Eighth House: the House of Sex and Death (Meaning and Astrology)

The 8th house represents that which we share in close connection with others, either financially, emotionally, or sexually. It speaks to our joint ventures, shared resources, business partnerships, and financial obligations with significant others. Traditionally known as the house of death, it also speaks to benefits derived from death, such as inheritances, and to the mysteries and cycles of birth, death, and rebirth more generally.

The 8th house is one of four succedent houses (2nd, 5th, 8th, and 11th) that follow angular houses of astrology, and can be understood as supporting the concerns of the house that it follows. The 8th house, also known as the house of sex and death, follows the house of committed partnerships and builds on this theme by introducing the concept of shared resources and the joint financial and emotional obligations that are formed in romantic relationships and business partnerships.

Key Concepts

• List of 5 keywords:

  • Shared resources

  • Cycles of life

  • Inheritances

  • Investments/Debts

  • Transformations

What Does the 8th House Rule?

The 8th house rules the shared financial, emotional, and sexual components of committed partnerships, as well as one’s compatibility and relationships to other peoples’ money through inheritances, debts, or investments.

Shared Resources

In a horoscope birth chart, the zodiac sign on the 8th house describes the resources shared within committed romantic or business partnerships and the ways that these interdependencies can be vehicles for personal growth. These can include shared financial obligations, investments, assets, and debts and the need to negotiate what each party owes or is owed within the partnership.

Cycles of Life

Traditionally known as the house of death, this house encompasses the spectrum of birth, death, and rebirth experiences throughout one’s life. Here, ruling planets can point to an interest in understanding the deeper meaning behind life’s mysteries and the cycles of growth and decay that shape our earthly experience.

Transformations

Experiences related to 8th house themes often bring intense transformations, either through the birth of something new or the loss of something cherished and the experience of grief. By putting one in touch with their true strength and power, these experiences can reveal one’s powers of regeneration and catalyze personal reinventions.

Transits in the Eighth House

Transits to the 8th house can coincide with a focus on financial matters, including financial planning or investing. There may be opportunities to take on loans, benefit from inheritances, or pool one’s resources with a collaborator or committed partner toward a joint venture. Transits here can also coincide with experiences of birth, death, or a personal rebirth through intense experiences of transformation.

Depending on the planet involved, transits to the 8th house can either be experienced as opportunities to benefit from the resources and money of other people (through loans, inheritances, marriage, etc.) or otherwise as experiences of financial setbacks or unexpected losses that compel one to reassess one’s financial plans.

Planets in the Eighth House

Sun: Those who have the Sun in the 8th house may have a mysterious quality, with a strong intuitive sensibility and the need to retreat from the world periodically to recharge one’s batteries. A strong exterior may belie a sensitive inner world, with a natural desire to understand the deeper, mysterious undercurrents of everyday areas of life.

Moon: With the Moon in the 8th house, there may be strong currents of emotion that percolate beneath the surface. There may be a heightened awareness of life’s ephemerality and the attendant desire to form deep bonds of attachment with others. The strong emotional resilience of this placement lends the ability to turn pain into purpose and to use life’s challenges as fuel for transformation.

Mercury: Mercury in the 8th house reveals a probing mind, a talent for research, and the desire to understand and analyze the mysteries of life and death. There may be a strong desire to pierce the surface of everyday conversation to reveal the deeper truths at hand or discuss subjects that may be considered taboo, such as money, power, sex, or death.

Venus: Venus in the 8th house can signify that joint undertakings and collaborations (whether romantic or business) can be channels for abundance and good fortune and that one can benefit from access to other peoples’ resources through loans, grants, inheritances, or patronage. In relationships, there can be a desire for deep emotional and physical intimacy.

Mars: With Mars in the 8th house, one has a strong drive and motivation to overcome challenges and crises by drawing on one’s inner strength and resourcefulness. One may be driven to confront one’s inner anger and shame and find healthy ways of transmuting these feelings for good. The desire for self-discovery and a deep connection to one’s sense of power is fueled by confrontations with transformative experiences.

Jupiter: Jupiter in the 8th house can symbolize that good fortune may come from joint undertakings, inheritances, and the resources of other people (including committed partnerships). There may be a philosophical or spiritual interest in cycles of life and death and the ability to glean wisdom and meaning from intense experiences of personal crisis or transformation.

Saturn: Saturn in the 8th house may symbolize fears around forming dependencies on others, either emotionally, financially, or sexually. Experiencing lessons around loss or death may compel one to try and understand the deeper meaning of life and develop the ability to use crisis as a vehicle for personal transformation and growth.

Uranus: Uranus in the 8th house can lend an eccentricity to one’s persona, with an interest in all things occult, taboo, or mysterious. It can also impart an unpredictable quality to one’s financial life, characterized by sudden losses or gains, especially in the realm of joint finances or business ventures with others. An appetite for risk may compel one to take an unconventional approach to investing.

Neptune: Neptune in the 8th house may indicate a deep sensitivity to the subtle undercurrents of everyday life and an interest in exploring the mysteries of life and death through artistic or spiritual pursuits. A lack of clear boundaries in partnership (romantic or business) can make one vulnerable to illusion, affirming the need for clarity in all financial and legal undertakings.

Pluto: Those with Pluto in the 8th house can come to know their own true inner strength and power through experiences of loss, death, grief, and transformation. Painful experiences around sexuality, betrayal, or joint finances can compel one to develop hard-earned wisdom, resilience, and the capacity for regeneration.