A couple of weeks ago, I circled July 21st on my calendar. It was, according to some key intel, a 'red letter day'. Saturn, as it turns out, shifted from Virgo to Libra, and wandered on out of my 8th house. Phew!
I admit that I don't usually follow my personal astrology transits; I tend to work more with the macro energies, transits, and archetypes. But when I got the 4-1-1 that Saturn had been transiting my 8th house for the last two-plus years, I was reminded of my appreciation for the power of these energies and archetypes, whether we're consciously aware of them or not.
The Eight House Mysteries...
In more modern times, traditional, literalist astrology says 8th house is about "death, taxes, insurance, and other people's money". Quel bore! That's about as interesting as watching paint dry, and so misses the essence (the problem with literalists!).
Depending on how adventurous they're feeling, the literalists might also add sex (the 8th house is ruled by the archetypes of Pluto and Scorpio).
The bare-bones literalist take on the 8th house is like looking at an acorn and thinking that's it's just an acorn. In reality, it's filled with the coding to become an oak tree...we just don't see that with our human eyes. So un-8th house!
Getting Un-'Real'...
And that gets to what the 8th house is really about - the unseen dynamics and energies behind the reality we see and experience.
That includes the Mystery (and Mysteries), shamanism, money (which was once sacred), death, rebirth, initiations (which were once sacred), regeneration, and sexuality (which was also once sacred), amongst other things unseen or 'taboo'. Since the 8th house is ruled by Scorpio and Pluto, we've also got 'power issues' involved -- is it 'power over' or 'power with'?
My favorite 8th house descriptions come from Caroline Casey, first and foremost, and Astrogrrrl and Eric Francis as well. Casey says that 80-percent of life is in the unseen -- there's much more to life, and the energies of life, than what we see. She adds that it's also the house of "that which used to be sacred and has become taboo...and wants to be restored to sacredness again."
So with Saturn, the great Master Teacher (literalists would say 'taskmaster'), moving through the 8th house, the lesson or initiation is about gaining greater mastery in, and taking more responsibility (response-ability) for, the energetics and mindsets and habits that co-create or influence the circumstances and what we see manifesting in our lives, and restoring a sense of sacredness to what's been diminished, cast off, or made taboo.
Enter Goddess Venus...
As it happens, my natal Venus is also in the 8th house, in a powerful placement. So in this Saturn transit of the last two-plus years, Saturn has been dancing over my Venus a couple of times, calling me to greater mastery and recognition (and response-ability) of all things Venusian. (Venus also rules my chart, since I have Taurus rising).
Saturn followed a three-year Venus and 8th House transit from Pluto, the mega-change-agent.
So Venus has been a BIG theme during this timeframe, rising up like her Greek counterpart, Aphrodite, from the sea of creation.
Venus rules beauty, harmony, sensuality (in Taurus), attraction (as in magnetizing or attracting), abundance, the deepest of all values, worth (starting with self-worth), and relationship. She's about the spirit in all matter -- all matter is thus sacred. All very Feminine, Goddessy, and luscious. Add the energy of the 8th house, and you've got a very shamanic, Mysteries, revering, sacredness-restoring overall theme to Venus's expression.
Kind of like chocolate - luscious, decadent, sensual, and once used in sacred ceremony and as an aphrodisiac (a word stemming from Aphrodite, the yummy Goddess). No wonder we love it. See how it weaves together?
Though I hadn't paid attention to my transits, I did experience the Saturnine mastery lessons of the planet's Venus in the 8th house transit.
Saturn's transit through the 8th house is also considered the most intense, and it definitely felt that way on more than one occasion. I've been deeply challenged to claim authorship and responsibility for the way I co-create my experience, and also found myself deepening and adding to my energy and shamanic work during this last couple of years, including remembering the sacredness of all things.
And the Great Goddess continued her re-emergence in my life, big time.
Caroline Casey reminded me that Saturn transits are the ones we might feel most easily, including that "Phew!" when the transit is completed.
I found out about the transit a few weeks ago, and circled the "Phew!" date on my calendar - July 21st, today, when Saturn shifted out of Virgo (and my 8th house), where it's been about two-and-a-half years, and into Libra. Much friendlier to those of us who are Aquarian Suns!
You might also feel the shift - it affects us all, depending on our astro-blueprint (aka natal chart), and would have just moved out of one 'house' in your chart (an area of your life) and into another.
What were the lessons and themes of the last two-plus years for you? That would offer one clue to the house transit -- the area of your life where your Master Teacher was pressing you into a greater level of mastery, and responsibility for your authenticity and expressing your true gifts.
As for me, I'm pretty grateful that this particular Saturn cycle is over, and I'm so grateful for its gifts as well. I'm also loving, even more, the power of consciously working with energies and archetypes, and the stories that we live.
That's pretty cool. Now, I'm off for some celebratory bubbly!
Love,
Jamie
