Welcome to Horoscope Houses in Astrology, a series on the twelve houses of your birth chart, and their meaning. This time the Third House and Fourth House of your natal chart (personal horoscope) are in focus. Of course, the houses have the same meaning no matter if we are looking at your public predictions (your zodiac sign) or your private predictions. If you are a Premium Member and have your own birth chart from me, though, you’ll get the most from what you’re about to read.
A really simple way to know yourself at a glance is to find which zodiac signs dominate. Which house (or slice of the wheel) has the most factors? If it’s Gemini then that’s your Third House. If it’s Cancer, that’s your Fourth House. Even if you only have one factor there, you can still see it at work – but if you’re strongly Fourth House, then what you are about to read will explain big life events for you, life themes and also your personality.
The Fourth House is ruled by the Moon in astrology and the Zodiac sign Cancer. I spend a great part of my year at my beach house in Australia, unplugged. No telephone, no television, no computer. Whenever I go for a walk along the seashore, I find huge families of tiny crabs, all burrowing furiously into the soft, white sand. They always turn to their homes when they feel insecure.
Cancer is a sign very much associated with home. House, apartment, land, garden, home town, homeland. I often find crab shells in the water, which are reminders that Cancer carries her/his ‘home’ as part of himself or herself. The home is carried around, all the time. This is why so many well-known Sun in Cancer people never lose their accents when they emigrate or move. Even if their voices change, their sense of belonging remains tied to where they come from. In fact, where they come from – is who they are.
Cancer is the sign of tremendous patriotism for this reason. The exception to this rule is the person with Fourth House horoscope factors who has had a very difficult childhood, or for political, economic or other reasons has to leave home. The home town and homeland are rejected. Even so, the Fourth House will ultimately ‘out’ and you tend to find that people with horoscope factors in Cancer search for a substitute place to belong to.
The Moon in astrology rules motherhood, and I am sure you know the famous connection between the Moon’s 28/29 day cycle (a moonth, in the old days – which became a month) and a woman’s monthly period. The Fourth House is about your mother, or stepmother. If your grandmother raised you, then it is about her. The precise nature of the relationship with Mum or Mom can be shown by the patterns in the Fourth House – the aspects – and also the combination of horoscope factors you find there.
Of course, as the Fourth House is about the family as a whole, it brings in fathers and father figures; siblings; aunts and uncles; cousins; nieces and nephews; grandparents. The family tree is a good image to hold. So is the idea of a clan. Those crabs on the beach near my property in Australia all belong to a tribe. It’s rather like the tribes of Scotland which all shared the same surname. If you are strongly Fourth House and have a stellium (three or more factors) in Cancer then your family tree, clan or tribe will either be a core part of who you are – or there may be lost branches or fallen leaves, owing to stormy conditions involving parents, grandparents or others. It is still at the core of your identity and life path but it may be harder for you – in fact, a difficult family tree can have a huge impact on every aspect of your personality, career and personal life.
Writing in Horoscope Symbols, Robert Hand notes “Real estate is our private piece of Earth, land on which we build our home.” The association of the Fourth House with your apartment or house is really emotional in nature, not so much about making or saving money through playing the property ladder. Cancer, the sign ruling this house is a water sign and is about irrational feelings. The way one feels, emotionally, about a particular residence is an expression of the Fourth House. You will sometimes read that Cancer and the Fourth House mean you ‘love your family and you are ‘home loving.’ Nothing could be further from the truth. I have seen many readers’ personal birth charts on this website who have several asteroids and planets in Cancer and the Fourth House and have struggled with one particular relative and could not wait to move to a new city! As with all astrology it depends on the factors you have in the Fourth House and the cycles you are experiencing. One way or another, though, this house shows where you come from – and why it matters – and where you must belong in the world.
As you might imagine, leaving home for the first time is a huge deal for a strongly Fourth House person and the date you move out usually reveals an astonishing number of transits hitting the Fourth House. It is a defining moment in the life of a heavily Cancer/Fourth House person no matter if s/he is elated and liberated or terrified and lost. The only comparable moment is really the loss of the Mother relationship and again the transits will show this in the chart. More happily, a transit of Jupiter in Cancer in your Fourth House, touching your Cancer factors (the next one is 2025) will bring resolution of any family, property, home town or homeland issues – and at its best, the dream home you have always wanted.
If you have a stellium in Aquarius (more than three factors in that zodiac sign) then your Eleventh House of friendships and groups is unusually packed. What happens to those friendships when Saturn, Jupiter and then Pluto all pass through Aquarius? Have friends been lost, or has the friendship changed? That’s typical of this long cycle.
The NHS was founded on 5th July 1948 in London with an astrological chart that shows a complete replacement in 2022 and 2023. The horoscope for the National Health Service reveals a perfect storm that will affect nurses, doctors and patients.
Astrology forecasts made before an historic chain of eclipses chimed with predictions of drama for the Royal Family, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump – and a strange twist of fate involving Lolita. Published so long ago that Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein were still unknown to the public, they now suggest July-August 2021 is a time of reckoning. Meghan, Harry, Kate and William have also been drawn into the astrological timeline. How do the Leo eclipses pan out in 2021 and 2022?
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26 Responses
What does it mean when you have no planets in a house? My 4th house is empty.
An empty house means – your personality is not defined by those things. An empty Fourth House/no Cancer placements means – you are not your family, nor are you your property or country. You are composed of other things.
Hello Jessica,
Is the fourth house the one related to our parents? Our parents have such an impact of on our lives and I am not sure which house points to this very vital part of our lives.
Yes, the Fourth House describes your parents, grandparents and so on.
My cancer has a stellium so home has always meant a lot to me, but its been a troubled home. Despite heavy cancerian placements, I always long to have a family/clan to belong to but am alone. I used to read the north node there as Sagitarius was my fourth according to Placidus system.
Is there any way I can work with this?
A Cancer stellium can often turn up as a very difficult path with family, home town, homeland and so on. It’s neither good nor bad, it is what it is – and every person will have different placements and patterns there. Most of all it means you are defined by ‘home’ and must find some road to that. Don’t worry about the Placidus house system. I will spin your chart and have a look at the future. You will have a sum of money to invest. Think about creating a home or garden, perhaps, that you can find your roots with. You need to really feel the ground beneath your feet with a particular house, apartment, garden, block of land or local area. That will help enormously. If you are careful with the money you may also be able to go back to your family tree. There are leaves or branches on the tree which you need to explore further. You already have a clan. The money will help you go back there. It may be Celtic, if you go back a few generations – why am I seeing freckles?
Hi Jessica, I’m enjoying this series very much. My question ties in to your previous article: “Astrology For Absolute Beginners” where you write that “apartments” are included in the bit re: the IC / 4th house. I’m not extremely sensitive but I’ve been plagued by noise issues in every apartment I’ve ever lived in. Bad enough to move… 18 different times & counting! It ranges from stomping neighbours above, to outside issues (example: a change in zoning bylaws transforms the cute coffee shop across the street into a thunderous nightclub). My IC is @ 3 deg. Cancer 4th house. Is it badly aspected? Forever?
Thank you. I’m so sorry about the noise issues. Let me look at your chart. You must be worried that you will never be at peace in your own home. Looking at your whole life – great news. You will find your dream home with a beautiful garden or very close to a great park/wood/bush. You will have peace and quiet. And you’ll have money. Your issues with neighbours and nightclubs will be long forgotten. Much of this happened when you had Pluto in Capricorn opposing your Cancer stuff – Pluto describes people or organisations which take over.
Funny, that you wrote about a dream home with a park/wood/bush because I thought that This Current apt (I’ve been in it for 4 yrs so far) would finally be “The One” as it is in a building situated a on a quiet residential cul de sac street with a government protected forest right across! BUT once again, turns out I moved into The One flat which has the Stomping, Clogs Wearing Uncooperative neighbour right above! Fooled again!
I see that Pluto is now at 20 degrees Capricorn, so, Pluto is going father away from opposing my IC @ 3 degrees Cancer, but are you saying that it could take until 2023 to have it leave the sign completely for this $ and quiet apt to potentially manifest? Thanks Jessica.
Waiting until 2023 for a dream home? Not with that clog-wearing neighbour. Order some Muji earplugs online, but while you think about the future, consider this – a home is more than Cancer/Fourth House – it is also Scorpio/Eighth House (an investment) and Taurus/Second House (rent/mortgage/value). You have a ton of transits there and it’s not going to take until 2023 for you to achieve your sanctuary. Here’s a tip – draw it in a journal, in colour, and make notes – don’t be afraid to reach for what you actually want – leave it out overnight so your guides can see it.
Will do. Sounds interesting (and better than simply continuing to buy a weekly lottery ticket, which is what I do, as per my lover’s – also sleep deprived! – only suggestion). As always, Thanks Jessica!
Dear Jessica
Please help .. I am so lost … so heartbroken … is there a way to find new love again for me?
Thank you for your work and your generosity in sharing
Sandy
I am sorry you are heartbroken Sandy. You will be given the chance to travel or move in 2018. You would take a project, plan or qualification with you. If you go, you will have a whole world of new people to explore. You could get a flirtation there, for sure. Marriage is not there in 2018 but adventure and exploration is. You could also flirt online or make friends online, with people in other regions or countries and develop that, and ultimately go there. Look across the map. That will help heal your heart.
I have been having much trouble with my family and my sense of belonging. They were triggered by disagreements between my then girlfriend (some 2 years back) and my parents. This made me see my family in a new light. I have since struggled to get a sense of belonging.
Also, sometimes Cancer as well as Gemini horoscopes (specifically this week’s weekly scope) makes more sense to me compared to my native Capricorn horoscope.
Could you please help me make sense of it?
Always read your Capricorn horoscope, please (nothing else). The experiences you are having with your family are exactly what so many Capricorns have experienced since 2011 when Uranus – radical change, revolution – moved into your Fourth House of relatives. You will get a long break from this from May 2018 when Uranus changes signs.
Hi Jessica, another interesting read. Previously in our correspondence you said that I was strongly defined by the 4th house with Cere present. That’s interesting as when I was young I couldn’t wait to leave home to go to uni and lived and travelled overseas for years without turning my head back towards home. Although that has since changed in becoming a parent myself. What does my 4th house hold?
Seven Cancer factors in your Fourth House is certainly a stellium. Cancer doesn’t say ‘loves home’ any more than it says ‘hates home’ and you will see people here who have a Cancer stellium who go to extremes with it! You are now a parent and you are growing into your Cancerian side. That is really common, depending on the placements you have in this sign. You have Ceres here and it often results in time-share arrangements with your family, home town, homeland. Ceres had her daughter for 50% of the year! That was certainly the case when you were younger and travelling. In 2018 a child could easily come into your family. A godchild, niece, nephew and so on. It would be wonderful news if so. In other cases your own children will hit the heights. Sometimes people who have paid or unpaid work with children, but no younger faces in the family, find it is the next generation en masse which brings tremendous happiness.
What would it mean to have your north node and MC in Cancer?
A past life (probably many past lives) spent being a mother and housewife, usually. Of course women did this for centuries. In this lifetime you may choose to avoid that, or take it on, but do it very differently!
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for this , it’s very enlightening. As a Cancer Sun with a stellium in the fourth house, I often wondered how my mother could have excluded me completely from the family with no contact for the last nineteen years when home and family were generally accepted as the Cancerian ‘formula’ .Having said that and after enduring painful rejection , I have gone on to make my very own family with two beautiful sons and a lovely home. – very Cancerian – and yes, funnily enough, I am an Interior Decorator by trade who is obsessed with houses !
My fourth house is Ops 5, Sun 7, North Node 20 , Apollo 21. I am wondering if with my Moon 20 Libra, Fortuna 21 Aries & South Node 20 Capricorn ( currently being transited by Pluto 20 Capricorn ) , is this a Grand Cross or does that not apply with the nodes ?
I’ll be in for an interesting time anyway for quite a while as I believe Saturn will conjunct Pluto and my South Node. Any thoughts on how to manage this or just surrender ?
Many thanks Jessica for all your writing and wisdom.
I am so sorry your mother has excluded you from the family for years. And of course you became an interior decorator and created your own family. You took pain and turned it into something productive and creative. Let me look at your year and tell you what is most important. You, or others, will move or emigrate. It happens – because it has to happen. This idea of moving on geographically and emotionally is very strong in your chart. Two things will help. First of all, the group (and this may be a circle of friends, or a society, team or committee, for example). Secondly, research and homework on all the opportunities and realities of the new destination. It is hard to say if this is you and your immediately family moving, or if this is someone in your circle who feels like family to you – so much so that you take on their situation emotionally. This is of course a function of all those transits to Cancer, which is always about searching for a home – a place in the world. Saturn in Aquarius (groups, friends) is also being picked up.
Hi Jessica. I have fourth house in Aquarius. Venus and Proserpina are in Cancer. Is there a strong connection of family to property as in the relationship affecting how we may get along?
You have Venus, Apollo and Proserpina in Cancer in your Fourth House. I’m not sure where you are getting the Aquarius part from! Let me look at family and property in 2018. You are certainly a family or builders, renovators or property negotiators. One of you will score a huge victory this year. You don’t say what your situation is, so this is hard for me to guess – but I would imagine a very successful house/apartment sale, purchase or lease. Perhaps successful renovations. You just need to remember that the hero/heroine of this story is not the whole story. There are other relatives also involved, behind the scenes and everyone needs to be included. The family needs to feel like the family.
I have Moon in Cancer, as well as Diana in Cancer, Ceres in Cancer, and Venus in Cancer. I am estranged from my mother, who was narcissistic and emotionally abusive. She tried to use me as a surrogate to elevate herself, and I had to cut off all ties to protect myself and my children from more abuse. I was close to my grandmother, who passed away three years ago, and I miss her horribly now that I’m pregnant again. I have no contact with my immediate or extended family, and very little contact with my hometown. This is very painful for me, and I don’t have close ties to where I’m living. My husband is estranged from his family as well, for similar reasons. Is this a temporary situation–will I find an “adopted” family and home someday? Is there anything in my birth chart that would explain this in any way?
I am sorry you are estranged from your mother, and that you lost your other mother – your grandmother. A Cancer stellium in the Fourth House can sometimes be a painful family story. We automatically look for oppositions from Capricorn factors or squares from Aries and Libra factors to see where the issues might be. Oppositions and squares mean – you are pulled in two (the opposition) and find things hard to square (the squares). Venus at 13 Cancer square Juno at 13 Libra is just one. You could spend a long time with just that one aspect. Use Search and your ebooks to interpret that in more depth. You want an adopted family and home some day, so let’s look. You’ll have the choice to move or emigrate. The reason would be work, very likely, or unpaid work. It’s a project or plan that you need to take to a new place, or perhaps a qualification. If the new place is a match for all parts of you – intellect, soul, spirit, heart – then this could easily become your adopted home. This reminds me of the television series, The Durrells, which involved the entire family going from Bournemouth to Corfu. It became their second home and in fact, it changed their lives. They found ‘family’ there in the shape of friends who became like extended family to them.
I have Chiron in the 4th… Oh the stories I could tell. 😉
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