Do you have the planet Pluto in the eight house, a ruler in the 8th or in aspect or Pluto in aspect with the ruler of the eight house? Then read on. (This article is written for astrologers). With Pluto in 8, you don't want to get anything for free. Pluto tends to intensify everything he touches. That's why you keep digging. Blood, sweat and tears don't scare you on your way to the depths. 

Liever Nederlands lezen: Pluto in 8: waarom makkelijk als het moeilijk kan?

Pluto (Hades in Greek mythology) is the Roman god of the underworld in whose realm we find both our repressed pain, unsuspected willpower and life force. It is the energy that leaves no stone unturned and brings to light that which is hidden.

House 8: parodox dynamics

"The eighth house contains the most positive and the most destructive parts of ourselves. It allows us to get to know ourselves in depth accessing every fibre of our being. At the same time, this house offers us all possible escape routes so we don't have to look inwards. Planets and rulers in the eighth house, or in aspect with the eight house ruler, are part of a paradoxical dynamic in which courage and fear, creation and destruction, and the theme of life and death alternate again and again". ~ Karen Hamaker-Zondag.

Pluto and trauma

Pluto provides us with information about emotional trauma. The house placement of the natal Pluto indicates more specifically what experiences the trauma is based on. With a natal Pluto in the eight house trauma's are related to:

• Intens betrayal and violations of trust.
• Experience of being used and manipulated by others.
• Sexual violations and misuse of power.
• Experiences of intens loss of those closest.

Furthermore, it is also conceivable that during self-examination you may find that you yourself have (non) subtly manipulated others or situations with the aim of improving yourself. (Perpetrator and victim are sometimes interchangeable roles).

If Pluto in transit visits the eighth house, makes hard aspects with Mars/Pluto or the eight house ruler, or other planets in the eighth house, this will evoke events in the outside world that trigger the basic traumas. You could see Mars as the manifest form of the Plutonic movement from within. Through Mars you enter into contact with these contents.

Pluto in the eight house in my birth chart

I was born with Pluto in the eighth house. My eight house ruler (Venus) is in the second house opposite Pluto. It is clear that Pluto in 8 with all its aspects has a bearing on my life. Oh, yeah? What does that express? Mainly challenges on my life path in the field of (personal) leadership, power(lesness), abuse of power, (sexual) abuse, issues with authority, money issues (large amounts of money) and money of the other; challenges with the tax authorities and other government agencies. Luckily, confrontation with death, disease (cancer) or agony has passed me by so far. Except for my grandparents who have grown very old in relative good health, I have not known the death of a beloved.

‘By birth’ Pluto has these aspects for me:

Pluto aspects

• Pluto opposite Sun
• Pluto opposite Venus
• Pluto inconjunct Mars
• Pluto sextile Saturn
• Pluto (12 degrees) is part of a yod with Mars (10 degrees) (apex) and Saturn (10 degrees)
• Pluto sextile Neptunus (generational aspect)
• Pluto half sextile Uranus (generational aspect)
• Pluto trine Ascendant
• Pluto is on the midpoint of the yod Sun (apex) inconjunct Moon and Uranus.

Aspects with eight house ruler (Venus)

• Sun (ruler 7th house) in wide conjunction (6 degrees) with Venus, ruler of my 8th house
• Venus in wide opposition (6 degees) with Pluto
• Venus conjunct the South Node

“If you feel the car perfectly under control, it means you are not driving fast enough” ~ Ayrton Senna

What are you running into with Pluto in 8?

I speak from experience. The tendency of people with Pluto in 8, an eight house ruler or in aspect with an eight house ruler can occur in different appearances and possibly the various phenomena are mixed up:

1. Being a victim and reacting to the world with resentment, which manifests itself in intransigence, projection and complaining.
2. Trying to change everyone around you (also projection) but not looking at themselves, entering into challenging and difficult relationships, sexuality at the cutting edge to enforce surrender or keep control over the other. A painful way to make big steps, because this you go to the core of the problem fairly quickly.
3. Taking up massive amounts of work: tackling projects in the world so as not to feel that internal issues need attention and demand to be researched in depth.
4. Realizing that all the previous stages have not resulted in fulfillment, because a feeling of unfulfilling remains.
5. Making one's own process the primary concern and investigating the fear that incites dangerous and large projects and the vulnerability behind the intransigence.
6. Reaching the point that perseverance in one's own research does not become an investigation for the purpose of investigating (disapproval of oneself for what has not yet been achieved). Here, mirroring of another/accompanying person is often useful, because Pluto in the eight house tends to go on and on.
7. Therapy? Someone with Pluto in 8 doesn't just let something down their sleeve and will usually be very critical and possibly suspicious of their therapist. The person in question first wants to find out if the therapist is worthy of him/her.
8. Knowing that there are things that are unsolved. The next step is to take responsibility for the behavior that goes with it. As long as it is unconscious, you make life miserable for yourself and others. Can you surrender to life as it presents itself?

Recognizable? Do you want to share your experiences? Please post a comment.

Sources

• Karen Hamaker-Zondag
• Dick van der Mark
• Jeff Green: Pluto: The Evolutionary Journey of the Soul
• Jeff Green: Uranus, Freedom from the Known

Bright Sea Astrology © Muriel Marie 2022

Last update: 2020