When planets are in the eighth house at birth or through transit there are challenges that test you and growth comes through difficult experiences. The experiences in the eighth house help us become closer to ourselves and our soul. The eighth house is related to hidden things and planets here make us more secretive, private, mysterious and deep. The eighth house is place with dark deep waters where we don’t always see clearly.
The eighth house is a water house and ruled by the planet Pluto. The sign Scorpio is associated with the eighth house giving it a heightened intensity. Planets here create a seeker and what I call a deep soul diver. A soul with a desire to dive deep into the depths of the self and bring forth all the things that are often kept secret. There are many issues hidden under the water such as repressed emotions, thoughts and behaviors.
Many issues that people are uncomfortable discussing such as sexuality, death and loss are things that eighth house people naturally understand. Understanding comes from personal experience. Depending on which planets are in your eighth house it will show where you have your greatest weakness. The eighth house is where you are tested. It is where you will come face to face with your shadow self and the part of yourself that is hidden from other people.
There are often personality traits and things about yourself that is hidden so deep that you are not even aware of it.
I realized recently that my own planets in the eighth house showed where my greatest weakness and challenges were. I finally saw the connection between the planet placements in the eighth as well as the eighth house transits I had experienced and lived through. Figuring out what your greatest weakness is comes easily when you look at the planets in your eighth house. If you don’t have planets in the eighth house, you will want to look at the sign on the cusp of the eighth.
Your greatest weakness can be a person, emotion, behavior or thoughts. It can be how you deal with emotions, how you show love, family troubles, work, unhealed trauma, grief or pain. These types of intense situations are often part of the eighth house weakness. You might not realize what your greatest weakness is yet but by looking at the individual planets in the eighth house you can start to pay more attention.
When the Sun is in the eighth house your greatest weakness can be something associated with your identity. It can also involve something that has to do with your father or the father’s side of the family. Inheriting something from your father or from their family such as personality traits, secretiveness, addiction, anger or psychic abilities is common. When the Moon is in the eighth the emotional nature and emotional vulnerability can be the greatest weakness. The Moon represents the mother figure and sometimes there are difficulties concerning mothering or lack of nurturing. You might be very attached to your mother but there are often emotional issues involving heartbreak and trust. There can be painful transformative experiences with the Moon here and this makes you a very sensitive person with empathic abilities. Your greatest weakness could be controlling your emotions and learning to protect yourself from being taken advantage of by others.
When Venus is in the eighth house your greatest weakness usually has something to do with how you show and express love. It also affects the type of people that you are attracted to. Venus in the eighth is a very deep placement that craves intimacy and deep bonding with another person. You might also struggle with self-esteem and appearance. Mercury represents your mind, thoughts and beliefs. In the eighth house it can manifest as obsessive thoughts that create anxiety, worry and negativity. This placement can make you a serious type of thinker who struggles with expressing yourself. You might find it difficult to talk about how you feel because finding the words and trusting other people can be a challenge. You might have a wound involving sharing personal information and feeling betrayed by others who repeated it. This weakness can make you withdraw and hide your true thoughts from others.
When Mars is in the eighth it creates a very powerful drive and passion. Sometimes there are struggles with intimacy, suppressing strong urges and then the energy explodes unexpectedly. Mars here also involves the types of people you feel sexually attracted to and you are attracted to dominant personalities. The desire to have passion can cause relationship difficulties. Jupiter in the eighth from my experience is a positive placement. It can protect you from the darker more complicated eighth house energy. There is also another side to Jupiter besides bringing positivity, good luck, good fortune and inheritance. It can make you extremely giving and kind. Sometimes people will take you for granted or take advantage of your kindness. It can be hard for you to turn people away and you enjoy helping others which can be a weakness. You can become drained easily because you are very giving of your time, energy and thoughts. Be cautious about loaning people money and sacrificing yourself for others. Jupiter is very protective but can make you too trusting of others. Understanding yourself is what is important so you can develop stronger boundaries.
Saturn in the eighth can create a restrictive energy making you afraid of bonding with others. You might repress your true nature, restrict expression of love and passion. This placement can make you feel very serious and overly strict. A strong sense of duty that can turn into a burden is common. Saturn here is focused on practical matters and finances but especially being in control. Trying to control people and the outcome of situations is your greatest weakness.
Neptune in the eighth house makes you very psychic and open to energy in your surroundings. You are like a light that attracts people to you that need healing. There could be escapist tendencies and a desire to numb yourself from heavy eighth house energy through alcohol, drugs, relationships and sex. A sensitivity to other people’s problems, lack of boundaries and a desire to escape from painful emotions are common with this placement. Your greatest weakness is absorbing other people’s emotions such as depression, anxiety and sadness because your psychic abilities are wide open. When Uranus is in the eighth house there is an unexpected energy that shakes up your life and causes intense change. Experiencing many ups and down of emotions and being blindsided is a common experience. Most people like comfort and stability. Feeling out of control and like your life is turned upside down can happen with Uranus here. Experiencing unhealed wounds unexpectedly and facing things you felt you had already healed is common. Your greatest weakness could be that you get used to unexpected changes that you avoid stability and believe that you must shake things up when things start to feel stable.
Pluto in the eighth house makes you perceptive and psychic with a desire to hide things from others. You can see through other people and are a very deep person. Serious and cautious about showing vulnerability you tend to repress emotions. You can see other people’s weaknesses well, but your own weaknesses are often hidden from you. Other people can trigger your weaknesses and bring them out to the surface. Pluto wants to have total power and control over its emotions. Your greatest weakness would be difficulty trusting anyone and preferring to be alone to do things your own way. There is always a fear of being totally vulnerable and dependent on anyone. Another important eighth house placement that I like to focus on is Chiron. Even though Chiron is not an actual planet I have found that it has a profound impact on our lives. Chiron is the wounded healer and when it is placed in the eighth house you will experience wounds through intimacy and love relationships. When Chiron is in the eighth house your greatest weakness if often giving your trust to people who don’t deserve it. The lesson of this placement is to heal your own wounds so you can truly help others heal. Identifying your greatest weakness is important and it can be different for everyone experiencing eighth house transits or birth chart placements.
