The fourth house in astrology is a precise one, and it rules everything that is related with the individual's history and roots. This includes everything related to the home, the family, and the ancestors. All issues that are connected to one's locality and one's property and land, and houses are communicated through this area of the natal chart. 

The 4th House Astrology Summary

• Zodiac Sign: Cancer
• Ruling Planet: The Moon
• Family
• Home
• Ancestry
• Nurturing Parent
• Youth
• Origins

The 4th House Rules Family and One's Origin

The traditional ruler of the fourth house is the zodiac sign Cancer, and therefore, it's ruling planet, the Moon. The underlying foundations of one's family and birthplace are conveyed here. This includes one's grandparents, the genealogy and customs going from them, and also material things that are passed down from generation to generation within the family. 

Though initially this may be confusing, this means that subjects relating to one's origins are concepts that are not associated with the second house, the house of material goods, but rather they come from the fourth house, because it relates to one's life from birth. As such, these things become the framework and the foundation in which one grows out of, and the become a core part of them. Chances are, that what originates from the fourth house will also be passed down to their children. 

The 4th House Rules Youth

So much of what is described in the fourth house is related to a person's youth, and because of that, many are irreversible. And because what lies in the fourth house describes the foundational understandings of the person, any change occurring because of transiting planets within the fourth house can have lasting impact on the individual, since it is modifying something that is so essential to a person's existence. With other houses, the qualities of the world that change are internal to the individual. For example, transits in the first house are tend to alter how the person perceives themselves, something that is internal to them. But this is not so with the fourth house.

Understanding 4th House Transits

Uranus or Pluto traveling through the fourth house could drastically adjust where one considers home, the change usually being something permanent. Malefic planets that have unfortunate aspects can indicate  a troublesome youth with a considerable measure of torment and broken family bonds. Benefic planets can give a brilliant childhood where one is encompassed by positive impacts. The individual's initial years are a glossy period, he feels shielded and nurtured, so that from a young age, one can start to thrive, mirroring the positive reinforcements that one gets as a child. 

The 4th House Rules the Nurturing Parent

There are diverse methodologies about which parent the fourth house speaks to. Astrology experts can't exactly agree about whether the mother or the dad are to be seen through the fourth house. But the real answer is instead most likely found when you take in to consideration the gender of the parent and the child. Because the fourth house rules over the individual's youth, the parent who is closer to the child is most likely referred to by the fourth house. In the vast majority of the cases, it is the mother and her relationship to the individual that can be seen through the planets situated here. The other parent, the one who typically works far from home, is referred to by the tenth house instead. 

The closer that planet is situated to the cusp of the fourth house, the more profound its connection goes into the foundations of one's psyche. The cusp likewise governs the graves of one's ancestor's, and can additionally uncover some data about karma that comes from one's past. Here, one can see the karmic obligations of the family, which has to be paid towards others, vice versa. 

The 4th House Rules Ancestry

Furthermore, the fourth house also rules occult blessings or curses from one's ancestry. The forces that are referred to here are those that are acquired from one's parents and one's ancestors, which follow one's bloodline. These are different from the skills that one learns throughout one's lifetime, but instead are granted to them as latent talents that can be manifested.

Everything ruled by the fourth house goes hand in hand with the one's family resources and shapes our own place in the world. It is where we come back to rest, to sustain ourselves and feel safe. It is where we feel home, regardless of whether or not we have one. 

The 4th House of Family - Astrology Infographic and Cheat Sheet