A woman holds and hugs a young child, representing the 4th house in Astrology.

Your 4th House of Home and Family

The fourth house represents your living situation and sources of comfort.

What is the 4th house in Astrology? The 4th house represents home, in both the literal and figurative sense. It rules the external space in which we live, as well as everything that makes us feel safe on the inside. Thus, our needs and emotions are a big part of this house, as well as our family, ancestors, and heritage.

The zodiac sign that's in the 4th house of your birth chart can reveal a lot about the nature of your home and family life, past, present, and future. Any planets that occupy this area will reveal your approach to these matters, while planets that are transiting this house can clue you into upcoming challenges at home or turning points within your family.

4th House Themes

Family
Upbringing
Ancestry
Home Life
Emotions
Security

4th House Meaning

After the sense of self is established in the first three houses, the 4th house creates an emotional foundation for it to stand on. This part of your birth chart describes your home, family, and the things that make you feel comfortable and safe in the world.

Everything about your living space is ruled by the 4th house. This includes physical things like the type of home you seek and where it's located, but also how you maintain it to satisfy your needs. Once you feel safe within the walls of your haven, you can recharge and do what sustains you. If you have Libra in this region, your house might be the most decorated on the block, whereas with Sagittarius here, your safe space may be on the road.

The 4th house also has a great deal to say about where you came from. It rules your roots, ancestors, traditions, and family history. All of this shapes your internal sense of self and who we are today. Your main caregivers play a big role in this, and the level of nurturing you received (or didn't receive) from them growing up greatly affects the way you nurture and care for yourself and others.

This brings us to emotions, since the things that feel safest help us to feel secure on the inside. When something pulls you too far away from your safe center, you can become emotionally unregulated. The 4th house is your comfort zone and what you need to feel protected. When you have a solid internal foundation, you can then take your unique and individualized self out into the world.

When we need help untangling difficult family issues or wish to understand and empower our own emotions, the 4th house can show us the way.

Planets in the 4th House

Planets that live in your 4th house make themselves right at home. As a result, they can tell you the story of your private dwellings, your family history, and your emotional security.

Take a look at how each 4th house planet impacts you. Not sure which planets are in your 4th house? Find out for FREE now with our Essential Birth Report »Find out now with our Essential Birth Report »

Sun: Family is everything to you, and you likely take pride in your home. A solid inner and outer foundation is critical to your stability. You may even be the mother of your friend group.

Moon: You might be a bit crabby, but it’s probably because you’re so sensitive to the emotions in the room. There’s a strong attachment to your home, family, and mother or main caregiver.

Mercury: A bookshelf with a good reading chair is probably your safe space. Intellectual stimulation helps settle your emotions. You may also lean towards traditional thinking.

Venus: A beautiful sanctuary is of utmost importance to you. You don’t come out of your shell quickly, but when you do, you’re a loyal lover. Just be careful not to mother or smother your partners.

Mars: While you’re very protective of family, you can be quite defensive with them as well. A buildup of emotional energy in your childhood home may have been expressed as hostility.

Jupiter: Go big or go home -- a roomy living space and a large family to live in it is your comfort zone. Parental figures may have greatly shaped your self-confidence and belief system.

Saturn: A strict or cold early home environment may have lacked the emotional security you needed. Regardless, you likely feel a strong responsibility to nurture others.

Uranus: An eccentric or erratic early home environment likely makes your nurturing style a little different than most. There may also be a desire to liberate from family conditioning.

Neptune: While unconditional love likely pervades you and your home, there may be an idealized perception of your childhood and a lack of proper boundaries that result from it.

Pluto: Patterns of depending on external sources for emotional security such as a partner or job no longer serve you. Your soul yearns to find security within and develop emotional maturity.

Chiron: Your deepest wound may come from instability in your home and trauma involving your caregivers. The strong urge to help others must be balanced by the need to nurture yourself first.

North Node: A difficult upbringing may leave you with a hard exterior. Your job is to melt the ice and uncover your emotions. Instead of trying to control everything, lean into vulnerability.

South Node: While leaving the family home may be difficult, there is a need to move past dependencies on others and go out into the world to actualize your own life purpose.

Transits in the 4th House

Planets transiting the 4th house of your birth chart strike an emotional chord and affect you in very personal ways. They can bring about experiences that either solidify your foundations or create cracks that throw off your security. Still, exactly what manifests depends on which planet is transiting and how it's relating to the other planets.

For instance, when the Moon transits your 4th house each month, you might feel more focused on family matters and wish to spend private time at home. However, you may come off as a little moody or overly-sensitive. Jupiter transits your 4th house once every 12 years or so, and this can be a fortunate period when you move into a bigger home or make improvements to your existing domestic life. Learning about the planets that will be transiting your chart in the future can help you navigate the themes that may arise.

Now that you've explored questions of family and home with the 4th house, take a look at the 5th house and its emphasis on creative work and pleasure!