North Node in the Fourth House

The fourth house is one of the private houses that governs our emotional nature, as well as life at home. A good relationship with the mother and a loving, stable home environment is foundational to life and our sense of inner security. Along with the 1st, 7th, and 10th, the 4th house is a pillar house that helps form the bedrock of a stable life.

The North node (Rahu)’s placement indicates one’s lack of experience and where consciousness is evolving. It represents the focal point of where most growth will occur in this life. The South Node (ketu) shows the area of life that is destined to not give complete fulfillment (and thus pushes us towards the North Node).

Meaning of North Node in the 4th and South Node in the 10th

It’s tempting to begin with descriptions of an unstable home life, because it’s such an easy thing to imagine with Rahu being in the 4th. This can certainly be the case – growing up living abroad, moving a lot, or going through something that diminishes that feeling of a secure home life.

However, Rahu in the 4th alone isn’t a guarantee that 4th house things are all ruined. What I find more often is an extreme on either end of the spectrum. For example, the mother is often intense in some way: sometimes dramatic and domineering as was the case for Ernest Hemingway, or the mother is extremely influential, as was the case for Kanye West. I have seen both scenarios in the charts of non-celebrities as well, but either way, the mother is more powerful or present than the father. The lord of the 4th, the placement and condition of the moon, and any other planets in the 4th will help paint a fuller picture.

Ultimately, this axis disrupts one’s outer security/stability in life in order to turn the focus on one’s inner emotional security. The 10th house is an artha house and the 4th house is a moksha house, so this is one of the placements that indicates moving away from material life and addressing anything that isn’t working inside.

North Node in 4th in Relationships

The 4th and 10th axis has to do with internal life vs external life, and unlike the other houses, this axis has a very yin/yang (feminine vs masculine) polarity. Because of this, it can mess up the feminine/masculine dynamic in relationships. What is fascinating to me is the people with this placement will attempt to be traditional and will outwardly appear to be feminine/masculine, but inwardly they will fail at it. Overall, it tends to be more problematic for the person who wants to be in the feminine/receptive role in relationships because Rahu is creating some confusion in the yin/feminine house.

Let’s say a woman has this placement: She wants a partner who is going to be sensitive to her feelings, but she is not very good at expressing her real feelings because Rahu is in her 4th house. She might not be forthcoming about her feelings, or pretends to feel good even when she doesn’t. Perhaps, she was taught that her value depended on her actions and not who she was.

The bottom line is, if a person cannot be honest about their feelings and emotional needs (or isn’t in touch with them), they have no chance of ending up with someone who can meet their needs. Such is the case with many women with this placement – trouble being emotionally vulnerable, honest, and expressive enough to attract a partner that can truly meet their emotional needs. Men with this placement will also struggle to provide emotional strength/support to their partners, because they have not yet cultivated it themselves.

So the tendency will be to fall back on those 10th house things: actions, profession, demanding respect/authority. Masculine people can continue doing these things and feel pretty good about it, but feminine people will feel that 4th house hole getting bigger.

Rahu/Ketu Breakdown

Until the Ketu placement goes through a breakdown, many won’t fully understand their Rahu weakness. In the case of this axis, the breakdown will occur with career/status. Either the career never takes off and that perpetual state of instability/vulnerability forces them to cultivate their inner security, or their status and career one day breaks/plummets and they’re forced to look at the mess they’ve made in the neglected 4th house (home, family, happiness, mental health). Another thing that can happen is they pursue some kind of title or status for the sake of status, and that status doesn’t actually give them a career.

Sometimes this leads to a mental health breakdown, or finding themselves in utter despondency. This is because Rahu can also show where we are “faking it”, and in the 4th house, people can be in denial about what they are truly feeling. They will discover that their outer/material life cannot flourish if their actions are not aligned with their heart.

Healing North Node in the Fourth

With this placement, it is helpful for the person to acknowledge that they are more sensitive and have greater needs than they want to admit. They have to develop the courage to be emotionally honest with themselves. Those with this Rahu/Ketu should also focus on their feelings first and surrender the fruit of their actions. This is what will lead to greater balance in their lives.

Hope you enjoyed this write-up, here is short audio about this placement: