Unveiling the mysteries of the 4th house

iphis

Member
Hi everyone, this is my first post : ) I’ve been doing some research regarding the 4th house and I would like to hear your opinions about it. We tend to read the 4th house as the house directly connected to our family/parents, childhood and our roots. But what roots are we really talking about? I always felt there is something more profound and perhaps mystic about the midnight house, maybe because my moon conjuncts Pluto in Scorpio in the 4th house. But I was wondering if someone else out there feels the same way about the 4th house. What sort of emotions do you experience with the 4th house?

Also, does anyone else who, for instance, has one or more planets conjunct their IC? My Pluto conjuncts my IC and I always felt some sort of hmm emotional baggage, and I don’t think it all has to do with my childhood. It feels more like an old scar, it’s very undecipherable, like I was already born with it. Or perhaps I’ve a lot of Scorpio energy in this house : ) also my South Node conjuncts my Saturn here, even though it’s cusp is in Libra. Tricky generational thingy.

So, does anybody else look at their 4th house as some sort of mystery yet to be unveiled? Do you only read it as family/childhood imprint? Maybe a rich and private inner world? Let me know what do you think and your own experiences/aspects with the 4th house.

Thanks and much love.
 

Inanna92

Active member
4th house is also house of our last days, how we will end our life, the death of our physical body, also what we are inside. It also can be connected to your occult involvement through family.
 

waybread

Well-known member
There is fragmentary evidence that astrological houses come from the religion of ancient Egypt, whereas most of astrology has Babylonian and Greek roots. A lot of the early Hellenistic astrology actually came from Hellenized Egypt. Some archaeological finds of horoscopes have been discovered in Egypt-- with some fascinating ones calling the 4th house the "dwat" or "duat." The dwat actually was the ancient Egyptian religion's hall of judgement of the deceased, presided over by Osiris. If the deceased lived a bad life, he was cast into their version of hell. If he had lived a good life, he actually assimilated to Osiris, and thereby shared in the god's divinity and eternal life.

There's more here, so if this line of inquiry appeals to you, let me know, and I'll dig up a few references.

I think it is from this association with Osiris that the 4th in ancient astrology became known as the house of the father-- i. e., The Father.

In modern astrology the 4th is associated with one's early childhood upbringing, so if someone has planets on the IC or in the 4th, they might benefit from depth psychology.
 

Inanna92

Active member
What you said about Osiris heart judgement, can be at some point connected with death of physical body and 4th house. In my opinion, it can be well connected with 8th and 12th house also. Before person arrive to the hall of judgement, has to pass through many levels and solve the riddle, to show he's honesty. After the judgement is made he's traveling (8th house and transformation, rebirth) to the other side, world, dimension, call it however you want (12th house, our soul and its further journey) while leaving physical body in the material, temporarily world..

It's similar to the story about Ishtar or Inanna and her journey to her sister Ereshkigal in the underworld. To find your inner self, has to leave behind all that is unnecessary and what you once was, your individual self (clothes), so to reach the deepest mysteries or truth, which is represented here as 7th gate and underworld. So, it also can be symbolically connected with 4th, 8th and 12th house.

Interesting topic.
 

StillOne

Well-known member
Interesting post!

I have 3 planets in the 4th house. Pluto is conjunct the IC. I feel similar to you, but I relate to my "scar" as being karma. There's definitely a lot of themes relating to Scorpio/Pluto in my family history.

Anyway, you should consider posting your chart! Astro.com charts are generally preferred around here.

Welcome to the forum btw. :joyful:
 

ashriia

Well-known member
What you said about Osiris heart judgement, can be at some point connected with death of physical body and 4th house. In my opinion, it can be well connected with 8th and 12th house also. Before person arrive to the hall of judgement, has to pass through many levels and solve the riddle, to show he's honesty. After the judgement is made he's traveling (8th house and transformation, rebirth) to the other side, world, dimension, call it however you want (12th house, our soul and its further journey) while leaving physical body in the material, temporarily world..

It's similar to the story about Ishtar or Inanna and her journey to her sister Ereshkigal in the underworld. To find your inner self, has to leave behind all that is unnecessary and what you once was, your individual self (clothes), so to reach the deepest mysteries or truth, which is represented here as 7th gate and underworld. So, it also can be symbolically connected with 4th, 8th and 12th house.

Interesting topic.

Oh, I like you! :smile:
Welcome to the forum.. hope to read many more of your posts.
 

ashriia

Well-known member
My Pluto conjuncts my IC and I always felt some sort of hmm emotional baggage, and I don’t think it all has to do with my childhood. It feels more like an old scar, it’s very undecipherable, like I was already born with it..

Hi.

What kind of emotional baggage, do you feel heavy or in a sense born old?

I have a virgo IC and pluto in the 4th, but its on my 5th cusp. Pluto is however opposite mercury, ruler of my IC and Asc; amongst 12 house planets as well.

I feel like I was born old, have always felt that way. I also believe, that this is my last life in terms of re-incarnation of the soul.
The 4th house is indeed, extremely interesting. It's an extremely interesting place in terms of dreaming as well, just like the nodes are. When you have transits to the house - its my belief that the dreams might be influenced by previous lifetimes or that revelations will come through dreams.

I agree with Inanna92, that occult knowledge is to be found there, particularly with pluto or scorpio influencing the house.
 

Inanna92

Active member
I have Saturn conjunct IC from 3rd house. My Venus conjunct IC and is in 4th, and I have Moon in 4th in Placidus, but at the end of the house, in some other systems is in 5th.

Many would say how I'm very traditional and have a lot of love for my country, how I would love to rise kids and have family, care for them, but I'm total opposition for example. Always felt like stranger here. I had strong relationship with mother in my childhood, now it started to get cold cause of our different views on everything. There always been tension between father and me and they divorced when I was one year old. And I've never had problem with that, I actually love it, wouldn't love if I lived with him from young ages.

But my IC is in Aquarius, Uranus in 3rd (moved a lot when I was kid, also changed schools), also Uranus as ruler and Aquarius influence probably give that different view on family life, not fun of routine. Saturn on IC as co ruler gives me that aversion on tradition, family and kids. My Venus is also in Aquarius, but I pretty much love to decorate my house, pay attention to little details, love to feel comfortable, warm colors. I would love to live with someone who will understand me, but who will be unique, different from ordinary people, similar to me. When it comes to Moon, I more relate myself with Moon in 5th.

I think Saturn plays important role here, like few other placements and aspects as well, karmic thing. It's like, here in this life, my thoughts and interests are not focused on family matter, material world.. I dedicated myself to something else, and my childhood and whole family situation had some purpose, so me to realize it and find my own path..

When it comes to death of physical body, well, some my interpretation, not cause of way I would like to be but simply my opinion on whole picture is cause of my Uranus in Capricorn in 3rd as ruler of 4th, my home will not be far from place I lived when I was young, cause of opposition to Mars, ruler of 6th house, maybe death will be fast, unexpected, but cause of Saturn on IC and Venus as well, and Saturn in trine to Jupiter and conjunction to Venus, maybe I will die in much older ages, fast, unexpected but peaceful, without much pain.

Sorry for some mistakes, English is not my native language.
 

Therese

Well-known member
hi from a five-planet stellium in Scorpio in the fourth house :)

I think that the more is going on in a house (and/or with its ruler, etc), the more its meaning tends to go beyond what is considered to be "usual" or "standard". And when it comes to the three "occult" houses, I approach them via their "mundane" pair.

The twelfth house opposes the sixth. So if we consider the sixth as the work we do that brings concrete results, then maybe we work in the twelfth, too, but the harvest is intangible. Traditionally, it's the house of secrets, loss, imprisonment and places hidden from or inaccessible to most people.

The eighth opposes the second. If we take the second house as resources that can be utilized in a practical way: money, skills, talents, nerve, etc., then perhaps we have resources in the eighth, as well. But they may be hard to access and/or we can't use them for our own immediate gain. Traditionally, it's the house of fear, death, money owed to others, inheritance and shared resources.

And the fourth house opposes the tenth, which is about our status in society - what authority we have, how far we are willing to go, etc. Then in the fourth house, too, we must be entrusted with something and we may be asked to reach far. But not in the pragmatic or worldly sense. Traditionally, this is the house of the beginning and end of all things, of family, of hidden treasures of the earth, of wells and water supplies, of land and other immovable property, etc.
Save
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iphis

Member
There is fragmentary evidence that astrological houses come from the religion of ancient Egypt, whereas most of astrology has Babylonian and Greek roots. A lot of the early Hellenistic astrology actually came from Hellenized Egypt. Some archaeological finds of horoscopes have been discovered in Egypt-- with some fascinating ones calling the 4th house the "dwat" or "duat." The dwat actually was the ancient Egyptian religion's hall of judgement of the deceased, presided over by Osiris. If the deceased lived a bad life, he was cast into their version of hell. If he had lived a good life, he actually assimilated to Osiris, and thereby shared in the god's divinity and eternal life.

There's more here, so if this line of inquiry appeals to you, let me know, and I'll dig up a few references.

I think it is from this association with Osiris that the 4th in ancient astrology became known as the house of the father-- i. e., The Father.

In modern astrology the 4th is associated with one's early childhood upbringing, so if someone has planets on the IC or in the 4th, they might benefit from depth psychology.

Waybread thank you for your Egyptian perspective, I’m familiar with Osiris but I didn’t know there was a link between Osiris and the 4th house, the midnight house, but that makes a lot of sense. I always link death with the 8th house. I will surely dig up some more information regarding this info. And if Pluto (or Hades in Greek Mythology) also rules the realm of death and the underworld… plus a lot of scorpio energy here… It surely makes my 4th house very Osirian. If you want to share more information about this, please do so, it’s so interesting.
 

iphis

Member
Interesting post!

I have 3 planets in the 4th house. Pluto is conjunct the IC. I feel similar to you, but I relate to my "scar" as being karma. There's definitely a lot of themes relating to Scorpio/Pluto in my family history.

Anyway, you should consider posting your chart! Astro.com charts are generally preferred around here.

Welcome to the forum btw. :joyful:

StillOne, my family history/childhood is also very much scorpion/pluto. But I’ve conflicted opinions about karma. By any chance do you feel you owe them? Or that you are working through them some baggage? Thank you!
 

iphis

Member
Hi.

What kind of emotional baggage, do you feel heavy or in a sense born old?

I have a virgo IC and pluto in the 4th, but its on my 5th cusp. Pluto is however opposite mercury, ruler of my IC and Asc; amongst 12 house planets as well.

I feel like I was born old, have always felt that way. I also believe, that this is my last life in terms of re-incarnation of the soul.
The 4th house is indeed, extremely interesting. It's an extremely interesting place in terms of dreaming as well, just like the nodes are. When you have transits to the house - its my belief that the dreams might be influenced by previous lifetimes or that revelations will come through dreams.

I agree with Inanna92, that occult knowledge is to be found there, particularly with pluto or scorpio influencing the house.

Ashriia I’ve this crazy theory about Pluto touching the IC. I think it might signify people who didn’t want to be born. I know it sounds crazy. But sometimes there is also a lot of distress regarding the birth of this person. Or previous abortions even before the actual birth. Some sort of resistance, fighting back life. This is what I mean by emotional baggage, it’s there but it’s hidden. Like I can’t remember what it is. Perhaps it’s just the Pluto influence or maybe like you said, feeling old. It’s quite foggy. My sun conjunct neptune makes it all more foggy. You are absolutely right about transits, every time the moon transits my 4th house I’ve the weirdest dreams. Last full moon in scorpio was a blast… Thank you!
 

iphis

Member
I have Saturn conjunct IC from 3rd house. My Venus conjunct IC and is in 4th, and I have Moon in 4th in Placidus, but at the end of the house, in some other systems is in 5th.

Many would say how I'm very traditional and have a lot of love for my country, how I would love to rise kids and have family, care for them, but I'm total opposition for example. Always felt like stranger here. I had strong relationship with mother in my childhood, now it started to get cold cause of our different views on everything. There always been tension between father and me and they divorced when I was one year old. And I've never had problem with that, I actually love it, wouldn't love if I lived with him from young ages.

But my IC is in Aquarius, Uranus in 3rd (moved a lot when I was kid, also changed schools), also Uranus as ruler and Aquarius influence probably give that different view on family life, not fun of routine. Saturn on IC as co ruler gives me that aversion on tradition, family and kids. My Venus is also in Aquarius, but I pretty much love to decorate my house, pay attention to little details, love to feel comfortable, warm colors. I would love to live with someone who will understand me, but who will be unique, different from ordinary people, similar to me. When it comes to Moon, I more relate myself with Moon in 5th.

I think Saturn plays important role here, like few other placements and aspects as well, karmic thing. It's like, here in this life, my thoughts and interests are not focused on family matter, material world.. I dedicated myself to something else, and my childhood and whole family situation had some purpose, so me to realize it and find my own path..

When it comes to death of physical body, well, some my interpretation, not cause of way I would like to be but simply my opinion on whole picture is cause of my Uranus in Capricorn in 3rd as ruler of 4th, my home will not be far from place I lived when I was young, cause of opposition to Mars, ruler of 6th house, maybe death will be fast, unexpected, but cause of Saturn on IC and Venus as well, and Saturn in trine to Jupiter and conjunction to Venus, maybe I will die in much older ages, fast, unexpected but peaceful, without much pain.

Sorry for some mistakes, English is not my native language.

your english is perfect, english is not my english native language as well. I relate a lot with this:

I think Saturn plays important role here, like few other placements and aspects as well, karmic thing. It's like, here in this life, my thoughts and interests are not focused on family matter, material world.. I dedicated myself to something else, and my childhood and whole family situation had some purpose, so me to realize it and find my own path.

I also have my south node conjunct Saturn. But I do know there is a lesson for me to learn regarding my family. And even though the material world bores me and exhausts me, I feel there is something spiritual for me to learn through it. Perhaps it’s the north node in Taurus : ) thank you for your reply and your inputs
 

iphis

Member
hi from a five-planet stellium in Scorpio in the fourth house :)

I think that the more is going on in a house (and/or with its ruler, etc), the more its meaning tends to go beyond what is considered to be "usual" or "standard". And when it comes to the three "occult" houses, I approach them via their "mundane" pair.

The twelfth house opposes the sixth. So if we consider the sixth as the work we do that brings concrete results, then maybe we work in the twelfth, too, but the harvest is intangible. Traditionally, it's the house of secrets, loss, imprisonment and places hidden from or inaccessible to most people.

The eighth opposes the second. If we take the second house as resources that can be utilized in a practical way: money, skills, talents, nerve, etc., then perhaps we have resources in the eighth, as well. But they may be hard to access and/or we can't use them for our own immediate gain. Traditionally, it's the house of fear, death, money owed to others, inheritance and shared resources.

And the fourth house opposes the tenth, which is about our status in society - what authority we have, how far we are willing to go, etc. Then in the fourth house, too, we must be entrusted with something and we may be asked to reach far. But not in the pragmatic or worldly sense. Traditionally, this is the house of the beginning and end of all things, of family, of hidden treasures of the earth, of wells and water supplies, of land and other immovable property, etc.
Save
Save

oh my, 5 planets, may I ask which ones? : ) I think I'm trying to be pragmatic about non pragmatic aspects. I do like what you said about being entrusted with something and reach far. It seems such an inward house waiting to blossom. Thank you!
 

Therese

Well-known member
oh my, 5 planets, may I ask which ones? : )

sure: Sun, Uranus, Mercury, Venus Rx and Mars - in that order.

It seems such an inward house waiting to blossom.

yes, it's inward, but it's not passive. It's one of the angles of the chart. We are influenced by the world around us all the time, we sense, we feel, we reflect, we interact... In the angles, we act. And these actions influence our life, and that of others. Our impact is quite obvious in the first, seventh and tenth houses: they are all above the horizon. The fourth house, however, moves in mysterious ways.
 

iphis

Member
sure: Sun, Uranus, Mercury, Venus Rx and Mars - in that order.

I’m always interested in how other people experience their 4th house. I think it helps me to figure my own 4th house and chart. Out of curiosity, do you have a tight conjunction between your Uranus and Mercury? You are quite right about the inward flow and how other cardinal houses are more action based. I’ve more of an inward chart, or perhaps I’m just more focused on the energy that reflects that part of my chart. I think Scorpio can be very relentless here, it tends to dig even deeper, trying to unveil the unseen. It can be very draining, because it’s a concealed and hidden house and Scorpio tends to be protective of its vulnerable nature. I wonder how that feels for a stellium in Scorpio in 4th house. Guess it always depends of other aspects and how we balance them. Thanks for sharing : )
 

katydid

Well-known member
I have a jarring, intense 4th house...:pouty:


Leo on IC:

South Node @ 18 Leo

Pluto/Lilith @ 23 Leo



Asc/Desc= @ 22Taurus/Scorpio


There is a tight T-square with Pluto/Lilith as the apex of the angular T


And the Sun and Mercury are In Scorpio so that Pluto is vital. :devil:


here is a very good description of Lilith/Pluto conjunction---and mine is exact:

http://pegasusastrology.com/post/109231542085/do-you-know-about-lilith-i-have-pluto-conjunct
This is what Lilith represents in our charts - the dark feminine aspect, unbridled sexuality, equality amongst the sexes. Wherever Lilith is in your chart shows where you may have an unconscious (or conscious, if you are identified with this side of yourself) need to express your sexuality, demand personal satisfaction, and be yourself. Lilith wouldn’t change herself for Adam and she went off to live a life of passion.
Pluto is a similar archetype. Lilith is associated with the serpent (sexuality) and the bird (messenger for the goddess). Scorpio is also associated with the snake and the eagle. Lilith is more specifically feminine and deals with our feminine wounds, and for men, their projection of the evil woman onto others. Lilith is an important element in your psyche if you’ve ever suffered sexual abuse, have been ostracized for expressing your sexuality, or if you identify with the darker aspects of the feminine (or are attracted to the femme fatale type). Pluto is conjunct your Lilith, so this feels like a double-whammy of darkness lol. I would guess that sex is associated with power or secrets in your life. The themes of Pluto are interwoven with Lilith’s. Maybe you were introduced to the dark feminine through Pluto’s realm - being brought to the underworld by another. This combination is very potent and if you begin to explore your darker side, much healing can occur. Lilith asks us to own our sexual nature and to put our needs above society’s (especially today, in this patriarchal society).


That^^^ description fits my childhood very well. When I was 4 my parents divorced and my Mom moved back into her parents home with my brothers and I. My Mom had to get a job so her little brother, my uncle, used to baby sit us after school when I was about 5 or 6. He sexually abused me for a few years and i did not say a word to anyone. for decades, I never told anyone... But it messed me up for awhile and I acted out as a teen, with drugs and promiscuity---cant really blame myself now but I did then...
 
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