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Change
and The 8th House
It's natural to resist change, especially change for the worst.
Isn't it what we fear the most? Nobody wants to lose anything they
value: relationships, health, job, finances, living situation etc.
In Vedic astrology undesirable change is associated with influences
of the malefic planets Saturn, Mars, Rahu and Ketu (secondarily
the Sun) and the malefic or dusthana houses 6, 8 and 12th. Of these
three, the 8th house is considered the most malefic being the house
of death, chronic illness, sudden changes, obstacles, debts &
misfortunes, scandals, among other typically undesirable outcomes.
For instance, K.N. Rao says in Analyzing Horoscopes Through
Modern Techniques by M.S. Mehta, "In the ending of any
marriage the role of the 8th house or planet in the 8th is well
known."
The malefic influences in our chart generally deliver to us our
negative, undesirable karma during the times of their dashas and
transits. While this is true from an astrological standpoint, it's
our attitude about change that's important. Our happiness is internally
based not externally. "People are disturbed not by things,
but by the view they take of them," writes Greek philosopher
Epictetus in the 1st century B.C. Astrology reveals the likely outcome
of our external situation but not our internal reaction to it. That
is our choice, moment to moment. We either choose to be 'victims
of our fate' or we rise above it. We either look for the 'silver
lining', the 'blessing in disguise', the 'opportunity for growth,'
or we just continue feeling like it really, actually, totally and
justifiably 'sucks.'
Blessings
in Disguise
If we don't look beyond our surface frustrations to the depths of
our life lessons we're missing the real gift of the 8th house -
spiritual transformation. The 8th house is not only a malefic dusthana
house but it is also a house of moksha or liberation (the moksha
houses are 4, 8, and 12). Isn't it interesting that the most malefic
house is also a house of liberation? The 8th house takes us to our
edge where rebirth and transformation are just on the other side
of death and despair.
It's valuable to take the time for reflection during these transitional
periods so that we can learn from our past, and not repeat the same
patterns in the future. "Where the wound is, is also where
the gift is," says Sobonfu Somé, author of The Spirit
of Intimacy. When we take the time to dive for those pearls
we are able to transform our lives the most. We may choose to make
a resolve (vrat) that signficantly changes our karma from that point
forward.
Astrology
and the 8th House
When
I first went to India in 1992 I studied with R. Santhanam, the translator
of the classical Sanskrit text, the Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra.
After studying my chart he said, "I see you began studying
astrology during the sub dasha of your 8th lord. This happened to
me too. I also took up astrology in the dasha of my 8th lord."
It's very common to see 8th house connections in the charts of astrologers.
Usually the 8th house or 8th lord will be connected with either
the 10th house (career), the 1st house (self, identity), the Moon
(mind, emotions), or the Sun (personality).
During
the sub dasha of my 8th lord things changed radically for me. My
mother died suddenly, I was in a career transition, and I began
studying astrology intensively. I was very close to my mother so
this was also a period of intense grief. I had been a school teacher
and I decided to give up my job to be with my mother as she fought
cancer. After she died, I began searching for a new direction and
it was at that time that I had my first Vedic astrology reading.
I became so fascinated with jyotish that I began taking as many
classes as I could. At one point I was taking 3 classes a week with
3 different teachers, which was possible while I was living in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Within a year I was in India studying with
R. Santhanam.
R.
Santhanam and Vaughn Paul, 1992
The Mysterious 8th House
The 8th house relates to the water sign Scorpio, which is the 8th
sign in the zodiac. It's a house of depth, seeing beyond the obvious
to the causal level, to the hidden meaning. This is why astrology,
psychology, metaphysics as well as research are all associated with
the 8th house. It is the most mysterious and the least tangible
house.
Similar to how physics has discovered that the most energy lies
at the subtlest level, so the 8th house is the house of power (shakti)
and life force (prana). The sage Parashara calls the 8th house the
house of longevity. You'll see that people with benefic planets
in the 8th house will have a strong life force or are interested
in working with subtle energy like acupuncture, tai chi, or reiki.
For instance, let's consider Dr. Masaru Emoto chart, the Japanese
researcher who wrote the best-selling book, The Hidden Messages
of Water. By photographing frozen water crystals, his research
shows that the energy vibrations we emit through our thoughts and
speech actually change the molecular structure of water. He has
4 planets in his 8th house - Jupiter, Mercury, Sun and Rahu. This
forms a Raja Yoga (royal combination of planets) between his 1st,
9th and 10th lords for Sagittarius rising. I've written a detailed
astro-profile on Dr.
Emoto that was published in the Mountain Astrologer Magazine
in their February/March 2006 issue.
Inheritance and the 8th House
A more tangible gift of the 8th house is receiving money from inheritances,
grants, insurance policies, sudden windfalls, one's spouse, etc.
The 8th house is the 2nd house (gains) from the 7th house (relationships)
and represents other people's money in general, especially one's
spouse.
The following chart is of a client who received a huge inheritance
in her Venus Moon dasha. Her father had passed away and left her
with a fortune that changed her life completely. She had been working
as a therapist and suddenly didn't have to work another day in her
life.
Notice in her chart that Venus, a natural benefic and a temporal
benefic for Libra rising, is in the 8th house in its own sign of
Taurus. Venus is also in the 11th house (gains) from the Moon and
in the 2nd house from the Sun (wealth). Venus certainly represents
the possibility of receiving a large sum of money in her Venus dasha.
The 8th house, as previously mentioned, is the house of death and
is also the 12th house (loss) from the 9th house (father). The inheritance
came while Jupiter was transiting through her 2nd house of wealth
and aspecting both her mahadasha planet, Venus, and her sub dasha
planet, the Moon.
This was, of course, a mixed blessing since she had the experience
of grief and a new found financial freedom simultaneously. This
demonstrates how our lives are complicated and why we can't just
evaluate a dasha period in simplistic terms like 'good' or 'bad'.
Ultimate
Lessons of the 8th House
When we're going though a period of intense change it could be helpful
to think of the wheel of samsara or illusion as being an actual
wheel. The closer we get to the center or hub the less spinning
actually takes place. This is why meditation and spiritual practices
are so important because they pull us back into the peaceful center
of our beings so we can stop spinning out with our minds and connect
with our hearts. The way out is in.
In Marianne Williamson's book, The Gift of Change, she
says, "The most important thing to remember during times of
great change is to fix our eyes anew on the things that don't change.
Eternal things become our compass during times of rapid transition,
binding us emotionally to a steady and firm course." The 8th
house is where we face our extreme vulnerabilities and where we
ultimately realize our invulnerable Self.
Anandamayi
Ma
In
Paramahansa Yogananda's classic book, The Autobiography of a
Yogi, he writes about his meeting with Anandamayi Ma in his
chapter entitled, "The Joy-Permeated Mother." He asks
her, "Please tell me something of your life." She replied,
"Father, there is little to tell. My consciousness has never
associated itself with this temporary body. Before I came on this
earth, Father, I was the same. I grew into womanhood, but still
I was the same. When the family in which I had been born made arrangements
to have this body married, I was the same. And Father, in front
of you now, I am the same. Even afterwards, though the dance of
creation changes around me in the hall of eternity, I shall be the
same."
This is one of my favorite quotes and something we can remember
when we're going through major transitions in our lives, which can
be seen in our charts by malefic planetary influencs, especially
the influences of the 8th house.
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