The fourth house is the second of the strong angular houses.    It sits at the bottom of the chart, anchoring the sphere that rises above it.   It is the foundation of the entire chart, the bedrock that provides the strength and solidity to carry the weight of the structure overhead.

Traditionally, the fourth house is the house of real estate and family, specifically, your mother.  In recent years, many astrologers prefer to think of it as the nurturing parent rather than the mother.  They might be right.  I don’t know.   I think the fourth house describes your relationship with your mother, whatever it is.   You sprang from her body, whether she wanted you to or not.   There is a physical connection with her that is only with her.   If the nurturing we all need is not there with your mother, finding comfort in the deep roots of who you really are is much more of a struggle.    But that is still the foundation you have to build upon in this lifetime.

The sign on the cusp, the planets that reside there, and the aspects they make to other planets in the chart all define what kind of things are in your personal space…extravagant or sparing, solitude or commotion, harmony or discord.   Maybe you don’t even have a physical home, but you still have your “stuff”.   Go to any big city and you will see homeless people wandering the streets with their shopping carts filled with precious possessions.

The fourth house is also said to define the conditions at the end of life.   When all of the walls decay and fall away, it’s the foundation that remains.