4th House: The experience of Home and Family.
Cancer, the natural ruler of the 4th house.
4th House Keywords: Family, family traditions, foundations, home, life endings, one's “roots”, one's spiritual family, a parent - mother or father, Mother Earth, unhealed emotional patterns.
- Family, mother, home.
- Life endings.
- Inherited roots.
- Unhealed psychological patterns.
- Mother Earth, Nature, the family of man, humanity.
The fourth house is at the bottom of the chart. It represents the foundations of life, one's family, home and a parent - most usually the mother, but this is not always the case with the modern phenomenon of single parent families. Some astrologers believe the most dominant parent (and this could be the mother), is governed by the tenth house, usually the preserve of “the father.” The sign on the fourth house cusp, the house ruler and planets in the house, these colour our attitudes to this foundational part of our life and the type of experiences we will have.
The personality has its roots in the past and is shaped by experiences in early family life. If this is dysfunctional, deep psychological wounds can cripple confidence. If these remain unresolved emotionally, wherever we travel in the world or whatever we may achieve; a psychic thread binding us to the past will follow us. This will set us on search for the acceptance and emotional security we never got in early years and compel us to project our problems onto others. If we cannot break free from unhappy childhood events, our “roots” and emotional development will stay firmly anchored in the past. This does not bode well for future family harmony.
The goal of this house, is to help us develop healthy family attitudes and life roots. To the soul, it represents an opportunity to cut past-life binding links, to clean out psychological baggage and on a higher level, to serve the human family.