The Mysteries of the Eighth House: House of Death & Transformation

After studying astrology for several years, it became evident to me that the most powerful house in our astrological chart was the eighth house. Each time, I analyzed a natal chart; there would be a common thread for all individuals who had planets in this house. I want to paint a picture of the most intense house in our chart, the house of death and transformation. The eighth house is the most misunderstood house in astrology and several individuals have contacted me about their fears of having planets placed in this house at birth.

The Eighth house is ruled by the sign Scorpio. All issues such as death, sexuality, secrets, other people’s resources, sacrifice and the unseen world of spirits, astral entities, ghosts or our direct experience with such things govern this house. Anything that is taboo, intense, uncomfortable and deep lingers here. Having planets in this house sometimes causes individuals to obsess over death or have a strong interest in this process. Death is symbolic of change. In the tarot deck, the Death card represents transformation, regeneration and change. All these facts are found within the eighth house.

Along with death comes regeneration and rebirth of our personality. During life we experience certain things that force us to grow and change our outlook. Just like the symbolic Phoenix known in ancient times who represents the death and destruction of self, she is then born again from the ashes. Eighth house individuals remind me of the Phoenix, they are survivors. They are destined to go through emotional, physical and material death at sometime in their lives.

Many individuals with planets here will benefit through other peoples resources. This house rules legacies, inheritances and land. Anything that is given to us through the death of someone close is eighth house territory. This is the house of sacrifice. What does sacrifice truly mean? The experiences of losing our parents to illness when we are young, seeing our younger sibling die in front of us from cancer, or experiencing our own personal experience with death is an eighth house gift. It is a gift because it blesses the eighth house person with insight, compassion and depth of character.

Individuals with planets here, especially the Sun or Moon will experience great benefits given to them from others. Many people will sacrifice so that these individuals are taken care of financially. Other times, the energy can manifest the opposite way. Individuals may find themselves constantly sacrificing their own emotions and what they really want for others. Sometimes they may fall in love with someone who is not free. They may stay with a spouse out of guilt or responsibility; when their heart belongs to someone else. These situations can create a deep seated loneliness and feelings of resentfulness. There is no way to escape this energy.

Individuals with eighth house energy must transform and let things die in order to benefit. Growing spiritually and achieving a deep insight into others are the gifts of this house.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think of the eighth house is the word, Energy. The subtle energies that surround our physical bodies known as chi, prana, and life force and how this energy can be used to heal others. When we have planets in the eighth house we are very sensitive to these energies. Individuals with planets placed here will be extremely sensitive to energy and will be able to “feel” other people’s pain, emotions, and energy field. Unfortunately, many times this is very painful for the individual. If individuals are not aware of this ability, then they might do two things. First, they may choose to ignore their insights and become increasingly lonelier. Secondly, they may experience all these threats as personal and believe that others do not like them. They may withdrawal from others and put up an invisible wall to keep protected and safe from feeling the unspoken energies that surround them.

You can image how painful it would be to feel others suffering. Eighth house individuals can see through other people’s motives, thoughts, and actions. What others show them on the outside is insignificant, because they will zone into the true energy, thoughts and emotions of others. When these don’t match up, they know it and feel it in a deep way. A deep feeling of loneliness can be experienced for individuals especially with the Sun or Moon placed in this house at birth.

When individuals first experience this energy, they may doubt themselves or second guess their perceptions. Eventually they must learn to trust their intuition. I want to discuss a client that has several eighth house planets and one experience that she shared with me. She is a social worker and as part of her job has to perform home visits.

One time in particular she made a home visit for the first time to a new family. The client was a 15 year old girl who was adopted when she was five years old. She lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend at the time. When she arrived things seemed normal, until the boyfriend got home. She was doing the first interview with the daughter and the mother at the kitchen table. When the boyfriend walked into the room, she instantly thought and felt, “This man has made sexual advances toward the 15 year old.” She shoved the thought out of her head, because she did not know where it came from and obviously did not know the family well enough to suspect something like that. She left the home and after several weeks received a call from another helping professional. This helping professional called her to voice her concern about the 15 year old, who had accused the boyfriend of making sexual advances towards her a year ago. The social worker had no idea of this factual information at the time of the first interview when she “felt” what was truly going on in this family.

Each experience like this one leads to a deeper understanding of self and others. Individuals with planets here can feel extremely different than other people. They can feel like no one understands them and that no one else in their life thinks or feels as they do. I see and hear this all the time from clients with planets in the eighth house. The truth is that they are right. Most people do not feel others feelings, thoughts, or intentions so accurately. Most people just take things at face value and do not question or look deeper into their fellow man. The ability to see truth is a unique gift. Although it can make individuals feel separate from others, which can eventually can lead to depression.

Many individuals with planets in this house experience depression and are often treated with medication. One way to alleviate this depression is by protecting oneself. The uses of protection rituals are extremely important for these individuals. A basic protection ritual can be implemented such as visualizing a white, yellow bubble around oneself. When individuals are in contact with others that have a negative impact on them, visualizing a white light around themselves will help. It is important to visualize this protective bubble daily and to have the intent in mind that nothing negative will get into your aura. Several techniques can be used, but this is the most basic and it works. This does not always mean that others are trying to hurt us; it just symbolizes our sensitivity to energy, thoughts, emotions and the environment. Eighth house individuals have what I call an antenna that connects them to everything subtle in the environment, the things that most people miss.

After researching this issue for myself and others it dawned on me what the true lesson of the eighth house is. Instead of feeling separate or different from others we need to think of it as feeling our “Oneness” with others. These individuals are feeling others energies, auras, thought forms and emotions. This is experiencing oneness with others, not separateness. If these individuals can begin to look at their experiences in this way, then they will start to feel an unexplained happiness come over them. They will realize that they are truly blessed and would never want to lose the natural healing gifts that they possess.

The house of Scorpio is known as the house of death. Many times individuals with planets here, especially the Sun or Moon experience the death of someone close to them at a young age. They begin to have a deep awareness and concern within themselves that people die, things change, and they themselves will one day die. They always have a sense of their own mortality. This urge or awareness is always in their consciousness pushing them forward in life. They try to live each day to the fullest. The true lesson for them is to realize that death is just an illusion, a transition or a transformation. The truth is that nothing ever truly dies. Energy is merely transformed into another level of existence. Just as physics states, “Energy cannot be created or destroyed but is merely transformed into another substance.”

True healers, body workers, counselors, paramedics, detectives, psychiatrists and psychics usually have planets in the eighth house. The most powerful healers often have Pluto here. Several body workers, reiki masters, and pranic healers have this placement. The most important thing to remember is that the eighth house does not lie. It calls out of the woodwork all truths, emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Those with eyes to see will see. Just remember to experience this as oneness with others, not separateness. In the end, this will only increase your abilities and understanding of your purpose here on earth. The eighth house is nothing to be afraid of, because it is a blessing in disguise. Individuals with planets here are truly our world’s future healers.