केतु · Sukha Bhava · Kendra · Moksha trine
Ketu in the 4th house
Ketu in the fourth gives detachment from home and mother — a person who does not put down roots and does not much miss them. The texts note inner restlessness and a spiritual disposition that shows early, alongside difficulty finding domestic contentment.
What it gives
- •Spiritual disposition from childhood
- •Unattached to place; moves easily
- •Peaceful in solitude
What to watch
- •Little domestic contentment
- •Distance from the mother
- •Property matters unresolved
Where Ketu actually is today
Computed at sunrise for the reference place. A planet sits in a given house for exactly one ascendant at a time — the sign it occupies is the 4th house of only one lagna.
Ketu right now
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Who has Ketu in the 4th today
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It depends on your ascendant
The same placement reads differently from each of the twelve ascendants, because the 4th house is a different sign for each — and Ketu is exalted in one sign and debilitated in another. This table is computed from the classical rulership and dignity tables, not written by hand.
| Ascendant | 4th house sign | Sign lord | Ketu’s dignity | Ketu rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aries | Cancer | Moon | Neutral | — |
| Taurus | Leo | Sun | Neutral | — |
| Gemini | Virgo | Mercury | Neutral | — |
| Cancer | Libra | Venus | Neutral | — |
| Leo | Scorpio | Mars | Exalted | — |
| Virgo | Sagittarius | Jupiter | Neutral | — |
| Libra | Capricorn | Saturn | Neutral | — |
| Scorpio | Aquarius | Saturn | Neutral | — |
| Sagittarius | Pisces | Jupiter | Neutral | — |
| Capricorn | Aries | Mars | Neutral | — |
| Aquarius | Taurus | Venus | Debilitated | — |
| Pisces | Gemini | Mercury | Neutral | — |
Strongest from Leo — Ketu is exalted in Scorpio. Weakest from Aquarius, where it falls in Taurus.
What it aspects from here
From the 4th house, Ketu aspects the 8th, 10th, 12th houses. Ketu is a shadow body; many schools give it the 5th, 7th and 9th aspects, and some give none. Shown here as the widely used set. An aspect carries the planet's nature into those houses, so a placement is never confined to the house it sits in.
The 4th house
The fourth is the foundation of the chart — the base of the wheel, opposite the tenth. It rules the mother, the home, land and vehicles, and the private happiness that does not show in public. A strong fourth is why some people are unshakeable and others are not.
Karaka: Moon, Venus · Signifies: mother and nurture; home, land and property; vehicles and comforts; emotional security and the heart
Ketu as a planet
Ketu is the south node, Rahu’s opposite: where Rahu grasps, Ketu lets go. The house he occupies is one a person is already skilled in and therefore bored by — mastery without interest. He rules spirituality, moksha, sudden loss and the kind of insight that arrives without being sought.
Nature: Malefic · Karaka of: detachment, moksha and past-life skill
Related placements
FAQ
Ketu in the 4th house — common questions
What does Ketu in the 4th house mean?
Ketu in the fourth gives detachment from home and mother — a person who does not put down roots and does not much miss them. The texts note inner restlessness and a spiritual disposition that shows early, alongside difficulty finding domestic contentment. The 4th house (Sukha Bhava) rules mother and nurture, home, land and property, vehicles and comforts, and Ketu is the karaka of detachment, moksha and past-life skill. Classically it is a kendra, moksha trine house, which shapes how a malefic planet behaves there.
Is Ketu in the 4th house good or bad?
It depends on the ascendant, and this is where most articles stop. From an Leo ascendant the 4th house is Scorpio, where Ketu is exalted. From Aquarius it is Taurus, where Ketu is debilitated. The table on this page gives the dignity and rulership for all twelve ascendants.
Which houses does Ketu aspect from the 4th house?
The 8th, the 10th, the 12th houses. Ketu is a shadow body; many schools give it the 5th, 7th and 9th aspects, and some give none. Shown here as the widely used set.
Which ascendant has Ketu in the 4th house right now?
Exactly one at any moment: the sign Ketu currently occupies is the 4th house of a single ascendant. The card on this page computes it from today's ephemeris and says when Ketu moves on. In a birth chart, though, what matters is where Ketu stood at your birth — the free kundli calculator gives that.
Does Ketu in the 4th house affect marriage?
Not directly. Marriage is read from the 7th house, its lord, Venus and the Navamsa. A 4th-house placement matters only through the houses Ketu rules and aspects from there — which this page's table sets out per ascendant.