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Eighth House

Eighth House - Astrology Encyclopedia

Definition of Eighth House In a Nativity. Release from personal limitations through human interchange; the Realm of Birth and Rebirth; of evolution through the suffering incident to all human experience; regeneration through enlargement of viewpoint, both spiritual and mental; and the subjugation of the personal Self -- a difficult process since so few realize the horror of its impact upon the mind and consciousness. It has to do with effects of an involuntary nature, such as the healing crisis preceding either recovery or dissolution in death; the manner of death; fateful losses which lead to regeneration through certain enforced changes; the transmutation of emotional stress into spiritual power; wills, legacies, trust funds, insurance; the estate of the marital or business partner; money belonging to other people, especially the deceased, in so far as it applies to the native; hence in general the financial relationship of the world to him, and his responsibilities in connection therewith. However, its consideration of these things is largely as liabilities rather than as assets.

It has been called the Occult House, the house of hidden things, because in most Eighth House operations the Law of Cause and Effect is difficult to identify, and there is the common human temptation to blame everything upon an inscrutable Providence. It is also known as the House of Death, because it represents the refiner's fire wherein through suffering the selfish desires of the Ego are burned away, setting free the pure gold of spiritually-enlightened Selflessness. That death so often comes instead, is a vivid indication of the tenacity with which we mortals cling to our foibles, utterly deaf to the accumulated exhortations of the philosophers throughout the centuries. In the wake of an Eighth House storm there is always a rainbow - if we but lift our eyes to perceive it. The Creative Ruler so devised this planetary system as to administer an automatic and recurrent spur to spiritual growth and emotional self-control. Successive jabs become increasingly severe, and finally to those who refuse to listen and heed, a premature death is inevitable; while to the others, the spiritually adult, every Eighth House operation is a celestial messenger in disguise, and a challenge to penetrate this disguise and become the recipient of the blessing he bears.

As the Second from the Seventh, it represents accumulated non-material riches - that which neither moth nor rust doth corrupt - not the result of the labor of your hand and brain, but of the manner in which you play the game with those to whom you are closely allied.

In a Mundane Figure: The public income; the income from exports; earning power of the nation, chiefly from the standpoint of the man who pays; frozen assets in properties, stocks and bonds as distinct from currency; the monetary standard, the National debt, and interest rates; public sales; financial organizations, such as trust and insurance companies. The birth and mortality rate in different class groups, as determined by the planet involved, and its relation to the Fifth House; medical discovery, insofar as it tends to promote longevity.

In a National Figure: The national treasurer as a government official, distinct from the treasury itself; financial relations with and the financial condition and obligations of other countries with respect to the nation for the capital of which the Figure is cast.

In an Organization: Losses and gains through or on account of death, or in connection with the estates of deceased persons; financial conditions involved in partnerships, mergers or lawsuits; financial relations with competitors, and their financial condition; revenue from investments, or through liquidation of frozen assets; loans and income from sources not under immediate control of the Organization; the company treasurer, as distinguished from the Treasury.

(Nicholas deVore - Encyclopedia of Astrology)

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