Friday 13 January 2012

8th House - Sink or Swim?

I can still recall the moment when I first discovered that I have my Sun, Mars, Mercury and North Node in the 8th house of death.  

Oh great!  Does that mean I'm not going to last very long in the mortal realm?  

Well, not necessarily,  because other keywords for the 8th house include:  'regeneration', 'transformation', 'sexuality' and 'taboo subjects'.  

Fabulous!  Is something really traumatic going to happen to me and either I live through it or drop off the face of the Earth?  

I guess in hindsight, I've had my dark moments in life, but as a beginner, those keywords only served to freak me out.  

When I first began to read charts for friends, I remember feeling rather apprehensive about the 8th house.  Those keywords are a start (along with 'shared resources', 'investments', 'inheritance').  But how do you make them practical (and not so scary)?  

When I share my chart with other astrologers, they often comment on my packed 8th house, 'You have a lot of depth in your character', 'You tend to attract trauma into your life so you should become a counsellor,' 'You need to get light from other people.'  

In my experience, I found that those with a prominent 8th house tend to get moments of deep depression where they may contemplate death or have extremely dark thoughts about others or themselves.  Or they just love to analyse people and find out what makes them tick.  Naturally, the sign on the 8th house cusp is also an important factor to consider, but so far, I've found that people with a prominent 8th house is unlikely to be naive - even if they appear to be so on the surface.

What's your take on the 8th house?

12 comments:

  1. My 8th house is empty. But I'm Pisces rising, so the ruler of my chart is Neptune. And my natal Neptune is in Scorpio, which is on the cusp of my 8th House. I seem to remember reading that that means something...

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  2. Neptune (even though it's a collective planet) is your chart ruler so it will influence how you interact with your environment. The 8th house shows how you achieve a sense of emotional security. This is also naturally Scorpio's house so this sign is comfortable in this house. The expression of Neptune in Scorpio is deep and intense (especially so in the 8th house) related to your capacity to heal, dream and be creative. Any aspects to it? That would affect the ultimate expression.

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  3. Not sure how I ended up being Anonymous again but my Neptune squares my Venus and Sextiles my Pluto.

    I also have my Moon and Sun a lil wider (Moon 5 degrees from Neptune and Sun 6 degrees off Neptune). They form a Sextile and Trine. I've always been a lil psychic, so maybe its not too wide...

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  4. I personally would consider over 8 degrees as getting wide so yours are pretty valid. Do you find it a struggle to express your Neptunian energy?

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  5. I'm not sure. I am a creative person, but its not very focused. I do alot of creative things well. But I do feel scattered often. Always have.

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  6. Perhaps it is Neptune's tendency to be nebulous and boundary-blurring, making the person feel unfocused. I personally feel my Neptune scatters my energy on a regular basis and I have to tap into my Saturn to re-focus myself...

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  7. Great article, and very eye-opening.

    I am learning more and more these days about just how central my 8th house lessons are in my life:

    I have an 8th house stellium in Libra (moon, mars, pallas, saturn and pluto), jupiter in scorpio and some major pluto aspects, one of which (unfortunately) includes saturn conjunct pluto - which makes the 'letting go' thing A LOT harder.. I hope there's an upside to this aspect with regard to these lessons, maybe structured power to transform..? But transform and let go, surrender I must, while also finding strength.

    How does one do it?? Does it get easier as we get older, wiser? I turn 30 soon... :)

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  8. In Libra, you're likely to experience your Saturn-Pluto conjunction through relating to others; in the 8th house, probably through intimate relationships.

    Age does help one to 'make friends with Saturn', at least, that's my personal experience. My first Saturn return was a character building experience.

    Your Saturn-Pluto conjunction is a collective aspect so its influence is likely to be experienced not just on an individual basis but shared by people your age.

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  9. 8th house, career-wise, can indicate a person that would do well working with transformation, death and the dying. For example Elderly Caregiver, Life Coach, Funeral home director, etc. This house can also indicate any unresolved karma that may have carried over from a prior lifetime, or challenges you have chosen to overcome in this lifetime.

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  10. Hey I'hv mars in 8th house in libra and mars is the lord of 9th and 2nd house ,,my 9th house is packed with sun ,mercury and saturn(28 deg) I have been running south node (ketu-7th house) period since 2009 and I met with this horrible accident in which I broke my arm from two places pretty badly .I met with the accident on 30/02/2012 ,underwent surgery on 2nd feb ..exactly the time when i entered ''mars'' sub-period .. i think a strong 1st house pisces jupiter saved me or it could have been much worse ..
    Nice article ..
    saras from india .

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  11. http://www.astro.com/cgi/chart.cgi?rs=4&btyp=2gw&;&cid=mobile-vkcfileuhxynh-u1365799653&pa=mobile

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  12. It is important to avoid procrastinating if at all possible also.
    Pisces' dwells within that shrouded element of the deep sea.
    Your back-to-school month starts off with a series of stray moons in Gemini and Cancer that could have you feeling a bit down.



    Here is my weblog Buy venus factor with paypal

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