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Mercury in the 4^th house is generally considered a beneficial placement in the natives’ ascendant chart. However, this perspective is nuanced.

Firstly, let us recall that the fourth house represents domestic comforts, residences, fixed assets, happiness and luxuries available to us within the house, relations and ambience at home, mother of the native, relations with mother, mother’s health and longevity, fixed assets like real estate, lands, vehicles, etc.

So, Mercury is a logical planet, and when it is placed in the 4^th house, two things are going to happen in the native’s life.

Firstly, the native will enjoy gains and income from real estate and fixed assets; he/she will also gain through fixed income securities such as bonds and fixed deposits since those also have some semblance of fixed assets (I have seen this with my clients’ charts). He/she will enjoy a comfortable life and the residence of the native will likely have many luxuries and facilities.

Secondly, the person or native will receive happiness from parents and family overall, but depending on which zodiac sign Mercury is placed in, this could turn either positive or negative. For example, a native with a strong Mercury in 4^th house will be born to very rich parents, but he/she will not receive their love and affection because the parents will be too busy earning money and building their wealth and income to even pay attention to the child.

However, in both cases, Mercury in the 4^th house will give the native access to wealth and properties whether through self-earned wealth or through inheritance.

If the native comes from a modest background with not-so-rich parents, Mercury in the 4^th house can bless the native with a very good house or residence that is full of comforts and luxuries when they begin earning and are able to establish themselves later in life.

Here, Mercury, if well-placed, will also give a long life to the native’s mother and also ensure her good health overall.

Some considerations for Mercury here are:

• Mercury in exaltation (Virgo) – this happens for Gemini ascendants; Mercury in this case gives the native an excellent residence and they will enjoy very good domestic comforts. However, such people will have such a comfortable life that they will be more interested in living in their house and relaxing or chilling as opposed to going out there and building their career. Astrologically, this is because when an exalted Mercury gazes or casts His 7^th aspect on the 10^th house, which controls career and profession, the balance of power shifts to the direction of the 4^th house which makes the native more of a home-loving person as opposed to someone driven by career and profession.
• Mercury in His own sign (Gemini) – this applies to Pisces ascendants; this placement is actually better than Mercury in exaltation in the 4^th house as it provides all the benefits of the residence to the native without making them overly attached to their households or making them neglect their professional life. Furthermore, the native will also get happiness in their families, meaning that both their mother and father will likely love and cherish them.
• Mercury in debilitation (Pisces) – this applies to Sagittarius ascendants; Mercury gets debilitated in Pisces so many of the benefits that were previously mentioned above may get delayed in receipt to the native. The native, will, however, still acquire some property and grow their business in fixed assets although at a later stage in life. Family relations here can be affected considerably.
• Mercury Rahu conjunction – unless this conjunction happens in a sign Rahu does well in, it will nearly always affect the blessings of Mercury. For example, if the Mercury Rahu conjunction happens in the 4^th house in Gemini (meaning that the ascendant is Pisces), the native will no doubt enjoy all the residential comforts as well as earn very good money from fixed assets and own conveyances, but he/she will not have good relations with their mother and the mother of the native may also suffer health issues as well as a reduced lifespan. The other somewhat benefic placement for Mercury Rahu conjunction would be in Taurus in the 4^th house (meaning for Aquarius ascendants). Here, Rahu will not harm the material wealth of the native much but worsen relations with the mother, although Mercury in Taurus will be more focused on pleasures and enjoyment rather than business and reasoning.
• Mercury Ketu conjunction – in the 4^th house, Mercury Ketu conjunction is only beneficial in Sagittarius because in that placement, both Mercury and Ketu provide the native with both material and domestic comforts. In any other zodiac sign, including Scorpio, Ketu will cause the person to become detached from their residential matters or from family. The native might also live somewhere else and may not gain or benefit much from fixed assets and conveyances – either they will not benefit from them or they may but choose to not care much about them in the first place.

Two auspicious Yogas that may be created by Mercury in the 4^th house are –

• Bhadra Mahapurush Raj Yog – this Raj Yog is created when Mercury occupies one of the four angular houses (1^st, 4^th, 7^th, or 10^th) in His own sign (Gemini) or in exaltation (Virgo). Bhadra Raj Yoga bestows immense intellect on the native and he/she becomes quite capable of taking rational decisions in nearly any situation. Such people also do quite well in their career and therefore earn great wealth.
• Budh Aditya Yog – while this is not a Raj Yog, it is still quite powerful. The Budh Aditya Yog is formed when Mercury Sun conjunction or Sun Mercury conjunction happens in the same house without Mercury being combusted by the Sun – as in, the Budh Aditya Yog still applies but the person may not derive as much benefit from the same. The Budh Aditya Yog bestows immense fame, respect, wealth, career and professional recognition, leadership skills, and more. If the Sun Mercury conjunction happens in a good house, such as the one in which Mercury exalts or in the one where Sun exalts, the person will also enjoy considerable longevity and good health.

In all other situations, Mercury’s benefic effects increase when conjunct with a benefic planet and/or aspected by it. The reverse happens usually when it is a malefic planet instead.