The 8th house is a part of our life where all the deepest desires and secrets are buried. It shows our dark emotions such as fear, grief, despair, and also signifies our limitations and taboos. Just like Scorpio (the 8th sign of the zodiac), the 8th house has a thick protective layer, where all the emotions are hidden beneath it. When this layer is broken, there will be an outburst of emotions. Generally, we refuse to deal with these emotions. But when you honestly work on this, then transformation happens.
Areas represented by the 8th House
The 8th house is one of the malefic house and rules over longevity, secrets, transformation, research, sudden events, occult science, fears, psychology, inheritance, downfall, intimacy, magic, lottery, obstacles, sexual organs, humiliation, defeat, addictions, astrology, tarot, separation from the partner, divorce, gifts.
The 8th House in Vedic Astrology
The 8th house is called āAayu Bhavaā in Vedic Astrology or the house of longevity. It is closely related to past karmic actions. It is one of the ādusthanaā or a malefic house, because it creates obstacles and unexpected events in life.
8th house is the second house of āmoksha trikonaā or spiritual triangle. The trinal energy of the 4th, 8th, and 12th houses together form this spiritual triangle. For a materialistic soul, this trine is a bit of a challenge. But for a spiritual soul, these moksha houses are the doorway for liberation. These houses carry tremendous amounts of hidden potential, but we waste it by using it for sense enjoyment. When you use it for spiritual upliftment, the doors of higher consciousness opens for you.
To experience liberation, one has to be free from all the materialistic attachments. The highest form of attachment is the attachment with the body/self. On a next level, you will be attached to people, surroundings, and worldly pleasures. When you detach yourself from all the materialistic pleasures, the process of liberation becomes easy. Then you will be free from the cycle of birth and death.
āO Arjuna, the person who is not disturbed by happiĀness and distress, and is steady in both, is certainly eligible for liberation.ā
- Lord Krishna in Bhagavad Gita
8th house is a Mystical Treasure House where all the Dark Secrets Reside.
It is said that the mind carries memory from past lives and we get rebirth because of this past memory. If there is a pleasant memory, we will have a peaceful incarnation. Otherwise, one has to suffer in the present life because of the unpleasant memory. This is what we call Karma. It is the storehouse of memory, mostly stored in the subconscious mind. All the fears and other such emotions from the previous birth and the present birth are stored here. These emotions always look for a way to express themselves. For example, you may be leading a stressful life and your body will try to release that stress in some way. You may hold onto the stress forcefully for a long period of time but eventually, it finds a way to come out. But this sudden outburst of emotions could harm you mentally.
As the 8th house is an intense and animated house, the hidden emotions become profound. Positive emotions will take you on an upward journey. Negative emotions like fear, hatred, jealousy, attachment will degrade you. When these negative factors engross your life, you take the path of self-destruction. When you are absorbed with all the negativity, you donāt need any external enemies of the 6th house to ruin you. That is the reason, the 8th house is more difficult to handle compared to the 6th house.
The 8th House is the House of Transformation
When you are attached to karma, you are enslaved. However, the 8th house also gives you an opportunity to break this bondage. The 8th house is about healing or letting go of oneās emotions. You can eliminate these emotions either by experiencing quietly or by confronting them. Now, when the emotions (good and bad) are released from within, it is experienced by you. Once you experience completely, you will no longer be enslaved. You will become free from those emotional bondages. This state is called transformation or liberation from that emotion. Now imagine, we are all carrying millions of such emotions which create many obstacles on our way. We call these emotions ākarmaā. When we become free from all karmic bondage, we experience freedom or liberation from life. This is why the 8th house is one of the very important āmokshaā houses in Vedic Astrology.
Generally, when we talk about transformation, we think in terms of spiritual transformation or liberation. But even small changes in life, which require changing the status quo or coming out of the comfort zone are all part of the 8th house. Separation from family/birthplace and changing habits are also associated with the 8th house.
8th House deals with Longevity
It is said that the 8th house and the 3rd house and the planets in these houses can reveal a lot about longevity. The 8th house also represents injuries, accidents, death-like situations, It will tell you about the cause of death and the type of death and answers a lot of questions like whether it will be a natural/unnatural death, peaceful/violent, etc. Sometimes it may give long life but lifelong suffering with it.
The 8th House Denotes Obstacles
The 8th house shows hurdles and obstacles in life. An afflicted 8th house can make life chaotic and disturbed. Due to the bad karma, it can put you in a situation where you feel helpless and worthless. If it is more afflicted, it may lead to depression, hopelessness, and suicidal tendencies. Wherever its ruler is placed in the chart, that part of life can see major turbulences. It will suck your energy and time in resolving those issues. An afflicted 8th house shows fears, problems, and other dark side emotions.
The 8th House Shows the Hidden Part
Anything which is not shown externally can be attributed to the 8th house. It includes material and psychological elements. This is the place we bury everything, whether the emotions, wealth, or relationships. Generally, we push these under the carpet, thinking we would deal with it later. On a mental level, it could be related to fears and worries. It could also be secret diseases, secret affairs, hidden agendas, etc.
Connection of Wealth with the 8th House
As the 2nd house represents personal resources, the 8th house represents resources from the relationships. The assets of the husband/wife can be seen here.
As the house is directly related to karmic structure, there can be unexpected gain/loss based on the strength. Generally, the gains are not based on oneās hard work but comes based on the luck factor. Since it is a karmic house, the gains could have been from the result of hard work from the past birth. It could be through the lottery, insurance claims, inheritance, gifts, speculative trading, or dowry.
8th House is like living in a bubble
The eighth house in a way shows a parallel image of the world which is created with false hopes and illusions. It is like living in a bubble. Based on past experiences, you will form a comfort zone for yourself. It is uncomfortable to come out of this zone because of fear, anxiety, awkwardness, or ego. When you step out of this comfort zone, you will experience freedom. If the 8th house is clean, it will give an opportunity to come out of this zone and taste freedom.
8th house also shows Kundalini Awakening
The 8th house signifies the base of the spine. This is where kundalini resides. It is the powerhouse of energy, If you undergo intense sadhana, then you can use this powerhouse for your spiritual transformation.
How to Overcome the 8th house Hurdles
As said above, the 8th house is an intense karmic house. The hidden negative emotions will get intensified in this house. It is important not to get stuck with these emotions. The simple step would be to replace negativity with positivity. You can come out of pain in the 8th house either by experiencing quietly or confronting them head-on. As we know, a lot of diseases are the result of negative emotions like hatred, jealousy, anger, fear. It is always good to avoid these to have a peaceful mind. The 8th house always wants you to turn spiritual. Meditation helps in reducing these negative emotions and can bring a lot of peace to the mind.
Significator (Karaka) for the 8th House
Saturn is the significator for the 8th House, which represents karma. The significator is like the judge, who approves the case. Therefore, Saturn in the chart should be checked in order to judge the 8th house.
Planets in the 8th house
Planets in the 8th house and placement of its lord show longevity and how you deal with obstacles.
Each planet will have its own effect on the eighth house. The problem comes when the conflict of energy happens.
When planets with opposing energies come together, it will affect the native. For example, enemy planets like Sun-Saturn,
Mercury-Mars, etc can create many problems. These planets placed together in the 8th house usually create many ups and downs in life.
Saturn in this house may give long life but can also make life miserable.
Profession Related to the 8th House
The professions of the eighth house are healing, surgery, doctor, health officer, nursing, astrology, psychology.
Body Parts and Diseases Related to the 8th House
Body parts represented by this house are private parts, excretory organs, anus, pelvic bones, sexual organs. When the eighth house or its lord gets afflicted by conjunction/aspect, it will create disturbance in the areas represented by this house. The possible diseases caused by the 8th house are problems to private parts, undetectable diseases, accidents, piles, fistula, rectum cancer, vaginal problems, cancer, aids, problems in menstrual cycle.
The 8th House in Mundane Astrology
The 8th house in mundane astrology represents natural catastrophes, debt, death rate of a country, import/export, taxes, litigations, succession or termination of government, scarcity, hidden things, black money, research, medical discoveries, mining, archeology, epidemics, speculative ventures, litigations.
Remedies for the afflicted 6th House
When the 6th house is afflicted in the horoscope, then there will be problems in the areas associated with the house. The problems can be mitigated to some extent by performing remedial measures. Please refer for more on remedies in astrology.
