Following are some keywords and concepts about the fourth house to help unlock your creative exploration of your own - or others' - fourth house placements.

The Fourth House: Key Concepts

Key Words and Concepts: Roots ♥ Bonded Relationships ♥ Radical Commitment ♥ Hero & Shadow ♥ Family ♥ The Homeland ♥ Living Under One Roof ♥ The Innermost Self ♥ The Presence of the Ancestors ♥ A Sense of Place ♥ Absolute Loyalty ♥ The Urge to Nurture and Protect ♥ Ancestors

Critical Questions . . .

• The meaning of "family" is changing—what does it signify to you today?
• Where is your natural family, and what do you mean by the term?
• What are the characteristics of your natural home?
• To what inner archetypes must you remain true if you are to maintain contact with your own soul—or truly share it with someone else?
• What ancestors watch over you, in any sense? How do you honor them?
• Where, physically and geographically, do you return for renewal?
• Where and how must you surrender to the trans-rational voice of your soul—or lose contact with it?

Useful Attitudes and Techniques . . .

• We are the only species in history that has ever forgotten how to mate.
• A house is not a home.
• One of us will go to the other one’s funeral
• All the truly important decisions of life must be made irrationally.

Reflection Questions

If you're studying astrology, consider the following "essay questions" for further reflection:

We are living in the only historical period in which bonded kinship ties of marriage and DNA do not define us and protect us—good news or bad?

We are living in a historical period in which people routinely move away from home, kinship, and friendship for their careers—good news or bad?

- Steven Forrest