Welcome To The House Of Death

That title got your attention right away, didn’t it?

Many people would rather talk about anything if it meant that they could avoid a true heart-to-heart discussion about death. Even astrologers aren’t immune. We learn in our early days of study that death is the domain of the 8th house, but discussions about that house often quickly veer off into the safer territory of symbolic deaths – endings making way for new starts in life, psychological epiphanies, and so forth. That’s all valid astrology too – and far more comfortable emotional terrain for most people.

Let’s keep perspective. The 8th house does in fact cover a lot of ground that has nothing to do with mortality. There are twelve houses in astrology. Into those twelve boxes, we divide everything that has ever existed or could ever exist. Naturally, they are big boxes! It’s quite legitimate to relate the 8th house to many other subjects – deep psychological work, the mysteries of sexual bonding, profoundly honest conversations. It is even legitimately taken to represent “other people’s money” since it’s the 2nd house from the 7th – and that line of thought quickly leads to investments, inheritance, and similar subjects. All of it flies under the 8th house banner.

Still, from ancient times, astrologers have primarily connected the 8th house with death. Of all of the points on its wide spectrum of meanings, none rival death and dying for sheer “emotional relevance.” In thinking about mortality, it’s helpful to note that we’re not just talking about your own death or any brushes you might have with it – we’re also talking about the impact of other people’s deaths on you: bereavement in all its forms from parents to pets to partners.