Usually I plaster some catchy title, but let’s be honest Pluto and the 8th house do not require cheesy introductions.
Pluto; planet of death and rebirth is at home in the 8th house. I’m accustomed to Pluto in the 8th house considering it has been there my entire life. People experiencing this via transit may be privy to some sudden and life altering experiences; I imagine it can be quite alarming because they are not accustomed to the energy. I think if you have a planet natal- over time you will learn to harness that planets energy and have it work for you instead of against you.
The Back Story on Pluto
Pluto rules: death in all manners, physically, metaphorically, spiritually and rebirth. Pluto rules power, the fight for power, perhaps for some feeling powerless, control, domination, darkness, depth, endings, and beginnings. Pluto’s Nickname is Lord of the Underworld. Look to the natal house that holds Pluto to see where you fight for control, where you will meet powerful people and where you will die and be reborn.
The Back Story on the 8th House
The 8th house rules similar things; death rebirth, power, it also rules joint resources…you look to the 8th house to see what will occur with people you share money with. This can be a bank, a spouse or a business partner. The 8th house also governs sex; I’m going to say the darker part of sex not the light and fuzzy part look to the 5th house for unicorns and hand holding. I have the Sun in the 5th so yes I do believe in fairytales 😉
Pluto in the 8th House Manifestation
Continuous change and transformation is on the lifelong agenda for those of us with Pluto in the 8th house. I have been thinking lately about how it manifests for me and what they do not tell you in Astrology 101 textbooks. A “psychic” once told me; you bring people face to face with who they are beneath the mask and this makes it difficult for you to sustain relationships or friendships because people do not want face who they are at a core level; most prefer to hide. I often feel torn between accepting people as they are and the desire to engage in deep analysis and confrontation in the hopes our connection catapults them into a more authentic existence. I think in personal relationships we should seek connections that assist us with reaching our highest potential. Don’t we want to be involved with those that help us self-actualize? Don’t we want someone that holds us accountable? I know I certainly do.
“Love isn’t measured in years; it is measured in transformation”
That is the deal with Pluto in the 8th house: Pluto is a probing planet when making an aspect to another person’s personal planet (Sun, Moon Mercury, Venus, Mars) in synastry or our own personal planet we seek to transform that planet. If Pluto in on your Sun or someone else’s, we wish to change their identity, if it’s on the Moon we wish to purify and strip old feelings. It represents a cathartic, purification and transformative process; purge the old and make room for the new or perhaps true. Stripping them and ourselves of all false pretense, parental programming and societal conditioning. Death and Rebirth. Personally I’m always changing; I have Pluto in my 8th house aspecting my Sun and Moon as a part of a Cardinal T-square. Plutonian energies are always at work. This life path isn’t for the faint of heart. I am comfortable in darkness; I don’t mind being the lotus. But this isn’t everyone’s gig.
Pluto is compulsive so the desire to dig and dig and dig is ever present. Some say the person with Pluto in the 8th house has the power to transform others’ lives. It’s all that probing and the more reserved someone is the more I want to get in there, get inside and figure them out. Truth be told once I get in there often I’m gone; I lose interest. Mission Completed. I like to go where others fear to, explore the emotional depths and visit the crawl spaces of peoples psyche. We often show up in others lives when they are at a crossroads and act as agents of change. But you know if they do not want to transform I have learned you have to let them go and accept that not everyone is on the path of self discovery.
The Truth
Pluto in the 8th is on a quest for meaning and truth. You can skip the pleasantries and the how was your weekend bullshit. Small talk can be painful. And don’t even think about lying to us, because we know. People with Pluto in the 8th house pick up on the undercurrents. I don’t do frivolous conversation and I hate meaningless chit chat. I want to know if you think you are married to the wrong person and which child of yours is your favorite? Pluto in the 8th house is a natural born psychologist.
Extremes
We have to watch out for extremes. When unevolved we can engage in the craziest power struggles. A lot of us have been surrounded by death our entire lives a parent, a friend and if not in the literal sense the metaphorical sense. The death of innocence, or the death of one way of existing and emerging totally new. I am not going to say we are always the best at dealing with small issues. We actually thrive in crisis. Pluto in the 8th is great during an emergency. We can handle high-pressure situations with ease; we are the people you want during a hurricane or an apocalypse.