Saturn in the 8th House: Meaning, Karma & Transformation

Hari Om Namo Narayana!

I just wrote an answer about exalted planets in ‘dushthana’ houses. Do check that out if you can. It gives an idea about how malefic and benefic planets interact differently in ‘dushthana’ houses and the underlying energies.https://qr.ae/pG3US4

• Now, coming to this placement, Saturn is well placed in the 8th house actually and does quite well.
• It is frustrating, yes, but it’s better than Mars or ‘Rahu’ in the 8th who can cause accidents and violent altercations. (Not all the time. Relax!)
• See, Saturn is the planet of longevity and Saturn actually is also the planet of ‘greatness’.
• Sun is fame and recognition, Mars is valor and dominance, Saturn is greatness.

If you would just look at Saturn ruled ‘nakshatras’ for a moment you’d get the idea:

1. ‘Pushya’
   1. This is considered one of the most regal ‘nakshatras’ and in fact even the most regal of all ‘nakshatras’.
2. ‘Anuradha’
   1. Once again, this is the ‘nakshatra’ of brilliance and you will often see heads of state and great leaders with placements in this ‘nakshatra’
3. ‘Uttarabhadrapada’
   1. This is the ‘nakshatra’ of the ‘shesha naaga’ himself. This ‘nakshatra’ is one of foundations and deep spiritual knowledge.

• Also, Saturn rules the sign of Capricorn and Aquarius, that correspond to the natural 10th and 11th house of the chart.
  • So Saturn basically rules both the ‘karma sthana’ and the ‘labha sthana’. (Damn!)
• Saturn practically rules everything important in the chart if you talk about success on the material plane.
  • Think about it for a second, Warren Buffet, Ratan Tata, Mukesh Ambani and Bill Gates; all very different people but everyone has one thing in common. what’s that?
  • They’re all way over 60.
  • You don’t get to leave behind a legacy or gain respect in your field unless you’ve slowly made your way to the top and stayed there.
  • That’s the thing. (Time).
  • Saturn is time.
• Saturn teaches you that if you want to build something valuable it will take time. If you want to be of value, it will take time. If you want to stay at the top after you’ve reached there, it will take constant effort. That’s Saturn!
• No wonder actually that the ‘ishta devata’ of Saturn is ‘Vishnu’ the preserver.
• So when Saturn is in the 8th house, Saturn’s biggest lesson is teaching the individual the importance of time and constant work.
  • From the 3rd and 10th aspect which are its strongest, Saturn aspects the 10th house and 5th house.
  • These aren’t easy aspects but very rewarding in the long run.
  • See, with the 3rd aspect, Saturn is making the native strive hard in the workplace.
  • With the 10th aspect on the 5th house, Saturn is making the process of improving life circumstances difficult by delaying reaping the benefits of good ‘karma’ from past life, which is what the 5th house represents.
    • The individual is forced to address and fix their emotional issues and hang-ups. This is what Saturn placed in the 8th house does.
  • It suppresses sudden events and it frustrates the individual quite a bit since marriage and partnerships take a long time to prosper or materialize.
  • For people with Saturn in the 8th, married life is usually delayed.
    • It’s because of the sheer delay and suppression in the development of the individual’s awareness about their personal power and personal expression.
• The individual spends a long time questioning and understanding what they really are, who they really are. This may be accompanied by a confusion and lack of clarity in terms of sexual orientation and sexual identity.
  • In some cases, this placement may even show an individual who grew up being body shamed, ridiculed or suppressing their sexual identity to fit in with others.
  • Quite often these can be women who like to hang out more with men and dress up and express themselves in more masculine ways and vice versa.
• Saturn in the 8th house ultimately pushes the individual to search for meaning through research.
  • These people are great at research and quite often can be equally good at science and occult even great sexologists and ‘tantra’ practitioners.
• The lesson of Saturn everywhere is that it never denies only delays.
  • So the individual is forced to search for meaning and identity via the work they do and less through relationships or by acts of heroism and risk.
  • Risk is forbidden to them yet these individuals may well turn into people who are not afraid of risk at all.
  • They know exactly where to draw the line and they know exactly how far to push it. It’s because Saturn, being the hard taskmaster that he is, pushes the native to work through uncomfortable situations and navigate through unpredictable life events.
• Death and rebirth are concepts known instinctively from childhood itself to natives with this placement.
  • It is quite possible that the death of an important family member caused them to take up important responsibility in the family or that the death of close friend, relative or sibling, maybe even a partner, had a profound impact on their life and lead them to a transformation.
  • Saturn in the 8th frustrates the individual by keeping them stuck in an identity that they cannot shake off.
    • This is the person who for example, went to law school because his parents asked him to and after working as a lawyer and saving up a lot of money when he decides to follow his passion and stop practicing, some family emergency makes him go back to the job and work for the next 20 years.
    • This is the person who is stuck in an identity that he didn’t even actively build. This frustrates the individual until the second part of life when they slowly become comfortable with the nature of life and focus on defining themselves more on the basis of the work they can do rather than softer more artistic aspects like who they are and what their purpose is.
  • Other times, Saturn will force the individual to undergo a transformation to execute their responsibilities in the material plane.
    • Example would be that of an individual forced to give up their dreams to take over and run the family business after their father dies, to be able to support the family.
• The 7th aspect of Saturn in 8th to the 2nd house, mostly pans out in some sort of responsibility towards the family and lineage.
  • The native has ‘karma’ entangled with the family lineage that calls upon them to carry forward the work left incomplete by previous generations.
  • Most of all, it’s the ‘knowing’ of leaving behind a ‘legacy’ or a body of work that sustains even after death.
  • As that’s the whole point of the 8th house, death and rebirth.
    • How do you then become immortal?
    • Well, by never being forgotten!

Some notable examples:

1. Civil Rights Activist Martin Luther King Jr.

• MLK was the chief proponent of America’s Civil rights movement and worked hard for the inclusivity of afro Americans into mainstream society, jobs and work culture.
• He fought against the racial segregation of black Americans and did so peacefully.
• He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

2. Renowned psychologist Sigmund Freud

• Freud was instrumental in the development of the field of psychology in modern times.
• The invention and development of psycho-analytics is attributed to him. His psycho-analytic theories explained mental illness, motivation and the structure of the subconscious.

3. Actor Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”)

• Dwayne comes from a long line of wrestlers. His dad and his grandad were wrestlers before him.
• As a kid, Dwayne and his family were forced to leave Hawaii because they couldn’t afford rent. That experience stayed with him throughout his life and even later, he had to face a lot of problems to become financially stable.
• Today he is worth more than $400 million!

Their details for your reference and study:

• MLK
  • Jan 15, 1929
  • 12:00 PM
  • Atlanta, USA
• Sigmund Freud
  • May 6, 1856
  • 18:30
  • Freiberg, Czech Republic
• Dwayne Johnson
  • May 2, 1972
  • 18:02
  • San Leandro, USA

As always, please note:

1. Planetary house placements should be viewed from the ‘chalit’ chart. Alternatively you may use the Placidus house system.
2. Just one placement cannot dictate events. You need to analyze the entire chart to gain more details about the native’s life.

Hope this helps.

Hari Om Namo Narayana!