Pluto journeying through someone's 8th house is a BIG DEAL. This is beyond a doubt one of the most life-changing transits of your life if it’s happening to you. Therefore, it deserves its own article. But fear not, while Pluto through the eighth house isn’t something to take lightly, you can still have a wonderful life throughout that transit. If you know how to work with it… it can change your life for the better.
But first, let’s clear up some dates so you know you have the right article.
Dates:
Pluto spends 248 years cycling through all zodiac signs, so you won’t live long enough to have Pluto in each house. Pluto also has an elliptic orbit and goes back and forth between two signs for a little while before finishing/entering a new sign completely. Therefore, there’s little consistency in the length of the overall astrological event… and the dates of the start and end aren’t “clean.”
ATTENTION: this list just works for Rising signs, not Sun or Pluto signs, so please ONLY look for your Rising Sign. If you notice that you’re in the wrong place, then there is a list below of links that bring you where you need to be.
Current Rising Signs Affected:
Cancer Rising: If you are a Cancer Rising, you’ll have a Pluto 8th House transit from May-Jun 2023, Jan-Sept 2024, and then Nov 2024 to Mar 2043.
Gemini Rising: Jan-Jun 2008, Nov 2008-Mar 2023, and then Jun-Nov 2023, Sept-Nov 2024.
Past:
Taurus Rising: Jan-Apr 1995, Nov 1995-Jan 2008, Jun-Nov 2008.
Aries Rising: Nov 1983-May 1984, Aug 1984-Jan 1995, Apr-Nov 1995.
Pisces Rising: Oct 1971-Apr 1972, Jul 1972-Nov 1983, May-Aug 1984.
Aquarius Rising: Oct 1956-Jan 1957, Aug 1957-Apr 1958, Jun 1958-Oct 1971, Apr-Jul 1972.
Capricorn Rising: Oct-Nov 1937, Aug 1938-Feb 1939, Jun 1939-Oct 1956, Jan-Aug 1957, Apr-Jun 1958.
Future:
Leo Rising: Mar-Sept 2043, Jan 2044-Jun 2066, Jul 2066-Apr 2067, Sept 2067-Feb 2068.
Virgo Rising: Jun-Jul 2066, Apr-Sept 2067, Feb 2068-Jun 2095, Sept 2095-Apr 2096, Nov 2096-Mar 2097.
Libra Rising: Jun-Sept 2095, Apr-Nov 2096, Mar 2097-Jun 2127, Nov 2127-May 2128, Jan-Mar 2129.
(Scorpio Rising: Jun-Nov 2127, May 2128-Jan 2129, Mar 2129-Aug 2157, Nov 2157-Jun 2158, Jan-May 2159.)
(Sagittarius Rising: Aug-Nov 2157, Jun 2158-Jan 2159, May 2159-Aug 2183, Jan-Jun 2184, Apr 2185. .)
… And then, Pluto goes through Capricorn, Aquarius, and so on again.
Want to find the article for your Rising Sign? Click here!
Now, let’s clear up some Astro-jargon.
Houses:
Houses are portions of the sky that correlate with all kinds of different life areas. There are houses for everything imaginable: love, your body, your career, your pets, your hobbies, what you like to read before going to bed at night, etc. Everything imaginable is represented somewhere in astrology and houses are one of the main areas for some of the weirdly specific stuff we may look for. Houses are also dependent on the exact time (to the minute) and place (to the city) of your birth and are counted from your Rising Sign. So, the eighth sign from your Rising is your eighth house (according to Whole Sign system, other House systems may require you to use a calculator and go to town.)
The 8th House:
The eighth house is one of the most interesting houses of all astrology – and it can scare people at first because it contains one deceptively small word: Death. First things first: YOU, MY DEAR, ARE NOT GOING TO DIE. (I mean, obviously, you could if you want to take swan dive into crocodile-infested waters with raw meat tied to your body and a “please eat me now” sign around your neck… but that would be your stupidity, not Pluto.) This transit doesn’t make your death any more likely than ANY other transit you could have. Okay? So, let’s continue.
Other topics of the eighth house are as follows: birth, rebirth, transformation, truth, secrets, intimacy, sex, trauma, the taboo, the occult, intuition, power, and shared resources including but not limited to taxes, debt, inheritances, trust funds, shared income, and so on. So… that’s quite the mix of very different topics, no?
Actually, there’s a clear method to this madness. The eighth house includes everything that puts you in touch with the BIG truths of life. Imagine this. We all know that we’re going to die someday. No one alive doesn’t know those things. And yet, how much more are you going to be in touch with that knowledge if you just had a run-in with the Grim Reaper and survived?
For human beings, there’s something like a veil of illusion between us and the real world. This veil allows us to be peripherally aware of the big truths while staying unaffected by them. You know you’re going to die one day, but it doesn’t change the fact that your biggest problem is that you’re about to miss a deadline on your latest project. Or that Steve never did call you back after the best date of your life. The end of your life isn’t even on the list of things you think about – even though we never know when it’s time to meet the Grim Reaper (it could be before the dreaded deadline – we wouldn’t know).
The eighth house is where the veil is being torn from us in one way or another. I’ve seen people completely transformed from watching someone else give birth. They weren’t even involved, but this experience changed them. Why? Because it put them in touch with something larger than themselves, something so fundamentally human and beautiful and powerful and magical that it couldn’t leave them unchanged. I’ve seen people changed by the fact that they grew up with a big family secret… even if it didn’t come out. (And when it did: BOOM, change again). I’ve seen people be changed by the fact that they had to speak openly about their finances with another human being on a continuous basis – again, 8th house – and intuition and the occult as well as power positions are obvious, known ways of changing people. Same as sex: the sex that matters anyway.
This leads us to one pretty important distinction: there’s 5th house sex and there’s 8th house sex. Fifth-house sex is when it’s about pleasure with no strings attached (or about making a baby). 8th-house is when you’re naked emotionally as well as physically. A.k.a., when sex is truly intimate and/or transformative, then we’re talking about the eighth house. If we’re talking about a one-night stand while you’re drunk off your butt and don’t care either way, it’s probably fifth-house sex. ‘kay? I hope so. (Obviously, those two things don’t have to be at odds: you can have one and the other, but the symbolism is different – stackable, but different.)
Another part of the eighth house that somewhat helps us understand the mess of topics in it is another deceptively small word: trust. In the eighth house, you have to trust. You have to trust someone to share your secrets – and trauma, for instance, is what kills trust in yourself and others. Giving birth requires trust, as does true intimacy. And so on, and so forth. Even a brush up with mortality brings up a question of trust… because people come away from that experience wanting to know if they can trust God (if they’re religious) – or the larger universe. Feeling let down by life because of a nasty experience – that’s a sign that your trust was broken.
Lastly, the eighth house is a place where you’re going to feel some discomfort before you get to dive into the good stuff: the passion, the treasure of a relationship with someone who truly sees you, the empowerment that allows you to be no one’s puppet, the financial freedom and the wisdom that comes from looking at life’s truth without flinching. The eighth house requires some courage… but the rewards are intense.
All these topics mentioned above are going to undergo some changes over a transit (read astrological event) of Pluto through your eighth. Below, you’ll see some more specific tips, tricks, and hints on what to watch out for (though I can’t go in-depth on all topics). But before that, let’s talk about Pluto.
Pluto
Pluto then is the (dwarf) planet of transformation, the soul, power, wounds around the soul, core gifts and core struggles as well as the dark side of humanity… and the hidden treasures we find in the world and around our psyche. Pluto is our resilience as well as the passion we can feel that allows us to get up every morning with a burning joy at being alive. It’s also our survivalist capacities and the ability to deal with tough experiences without being broken by them.
When Pluto in the sky journeys through a house of your natal chart, it does three things: 1) it draws your energy inwards when it comes to the area of life the house represents. This can lead to things “brewing under the surface” for a while, or for you being a bit more introverted. 2), it coincides with you meeting PEOPLE who embody Pluto’s honesty, intensity, and/or shadow side. And 3), Pluto excavates whatever lay under the surface so you can step into your most powerful, authentic, and embodied self and build a life based on truth.
So, what happens when Pluto enters the 8th house through transit? Truth be told, it’s a pretty big deal and a very intense combination. But you can also learn to make this the best time of your life with a little care and a lot of courage. We’ll start with the worst first – and after, you’ll see the bright side.
Heal Your Wounds
First and foremost: Pluto can be your greatest ally or your greatest adversary. Similarly, the eighth house can be a place of beauty for you or one of pain. Part of the reason why people react so differently to those houses and energies is simply… their natal charts are different. A personal reading from an astrologer you trust can help you figure out how to best work with your eighth house through this transit. Another part of the reason has to do with your individual choices… and that’s what this article is about.
We don’t go through life undamaged. That’s the universal truth every human experiences in this life: no matter how good our childhood was and how many people loved us and treated us well, no matter how lucky we were in life, we all have wounds and patterns that make us mess up where it’s really not necessary. The causes are different for different people, and truth be told: human beings are extremely resilient – if you got the right care after a traumatic event, you may not even develop much psychological scar tissue. But at the end of the day, there’s always something going on that hurt us.
Part of what’s going to happen under Pluto in the 8th house is that these wounds are becoming more tender. The good news is that this is a process that’s meant to help you. As human beings, we don’t heal through time alone, we heal through time and effort. Sometimes, we need to grow up to become able to take on that effort… at other times, the effort in itself is one that takes time. But without effort and conscious choice of healing, things rarely close up psychologically. Pluto traveling through the eighth house gives you the strength to have that effort and also the desire to try in the first place.
It also allows you to see where your psychological wounds don’t affect you and where they do affect you – and you can use this information to build your life accordingly, or seek help where you really need it. The good news is that what’s coming up through this time in your life is also a) temporary even in the time frame of Pluto’s journey through the house (you’re not going to have to deal with decades of struggle), and b): it’s all stuff you can fully heal. Unfortunately, this still isn’t the greatest process to go through, but it’s worth it, because…
The other side of this coin is that Pluto traveling through your eighth house makes you resilient as you’ve never imagined. This is truly a transit that helps you step into your power, embrace your strength, learn adequate boundaries, and become A Person You Do Not Mess With™.
It’s literally like you realize that everything else that you’ve ever gone through means that you don’t need to be scared of the same things you used to be scared of. The power you hold as an individual becomes something you’re aware of… and you can deepen it. With Pluto in the eighth house, you become “unf*ckwithable,” as a mentor of mine used to say. It’s a very powerful transit.
The Occult and Intuition
The words “the occult” always sound like they’re about demon worship and stuff, but fortunately, they’re not. (Also, please don’t do that. Seriously!) “Occult” includes intuitive, magical, and sometimes slightly sketchy practices, rituals, and modalities. The reason why I’m putting it like that is as follows: Pluto in the eighth house can show you where those things are dangerous.
Divination practices are wonderful. But, as Baba Yaga from the fairy tale Vasilisa, the Wise so sagely said, “It’s better to not want to know the answer to all of your questions.” Sometimes, knowing is worse than not knowing. Similarly, the future isn’t completely fluid… but it can change in some ways. You rarely have all answers or the full picture, and sometimes it’s just best to trust the spiritual powers you believe in to do a good job on your behalf (for me, that’s God.) Also, not everyone who claims to be intuitive is actually intuitive or good at what they do.
Let’s talk about manifestation: a lot of other folklore warns us of wishing for things that could harm us – they may come true. There’s a reason for those stories, and why they exist in all cultures. There are 100% times when you are not even remotely aware of how damaging your deepest desire could possibly be for you – at all, at this time, or in those specific parameters. Manifestation and occult practices around the same principle all carry the danger of bringing these things in despite the damaging effects (which is why I categorically do not use any of that.) Under this transit, be really mindful of what you’re wishing for and how you go about getting it… and also, whom you’re involving on a spiritual plane. Demon worship is NOT the way to go. Keep yourself safe.
Also, please don’t mess around with things you don’t understand or that you didn’t bother to research (or that you don’t believe are real: if you’re right, you’re wasting your time, if you’re wrong you may just have made a massive, completely avoidable mistake). Keep! Yourself! Safe!!
Good. Now that we’ve had that covered: under Pluto going through your 8th house, you may find yourself being more drawn to the fields other people may label as “occult.” Be it playing cards, tarot, oracle decks, Ouija boards, astrology, and so on and so forth, it draws you. Some people going through this transit take up one of those things as a hobby or even more seriously, some people are just into reading about those things without ever wanting to engage themselves. And this is why I’ve had to put all of the disclaimers above that I seriously never, EVER want to write about or disclaim, but there are some people who are really, REALLY dumb and would totally do something with “the occult” they are not meant to do. However, if you’re smart, you probably never even needed these disclaimers (good for you!) so I apologize for wasting your time.
Generally speaking, however, things that build on energy systems and intuition are safe to use – if you’re careful here and there and keep your ethics in mind.
On top of that, your intuition is going to become much stronger under this transit. You’ll just know more things inexplicably that turn out to be true and you can trust your intuition much more than usual. This is one of the biggest blessings of this astrological event. Which is great: you can use your intuition to make important life choices, judge the character of the people around you, and avoid potentially nasty situations while taking routes in life that lead you to happiness.
In general, under this transit always, always, ALWAYS listen to your gut above your head. You don’t have to understand why you don’t trust this person or this situation, you just have to listen to your instincts and act accordingly. This is the #1 way of avoiding the necessity for all disclaimers that follow in this article.
Intimacy
One of the undoubtedly nicest things about this astrological event is that intimacy and sex(uality) are topics that are highlighted. As with all topics that have to do with Pluto and the eighth house (as each on its own is pretty intense), we have to start with disclaimers before we can get to the fun stuff.
Disclaimer: This is a time in your life when it’s important to make sure you don’t take risks that are inherently damaging to yourself or others. This is true for all times of life, regardless of transit, but sometimes, people under this astrological influence can get really tempted to do something that feels edgy and taboo. That’s in itself not a problem: edgy and taboo don’t necessarily mean that anything you’re doing is dangerous. However, some things come with a warning label for a reason. (For instance, a lot of people love to talk about choking in bed because “edgy,” but this actually kills people – even ones who took all safety precautions at the time.) Please be mindful of a) whom you trust, b) which parameters you follow when it comes to safety (environment, practices, etc.), and c) whether breaking the taboo is worth the potential consequences. Sometimes, it is – sometimes, it’s not. Best think about that before getting naked. In summary: think with your head, too.
In general, it’s a great idea to learn basic safety precautions: how to identify potentially dangerous, predatorial people, how to identify situations that are unsafe (even when others tell you that it’s so safe), and how to disentangle yourself from a situation once you’re knee-deep in it. Under this influence, I highly suggest not going on first dates without telling a trusted friend and family member where you are, with whom, and how to get in touch with you. Also, having code words so others can help you get out of a situation you’re uncomfortable in may make sense. Please, please, please, don’t ever sleep with a person who’s proven to get mad or ignore it when you set a boundary.
Here's the reason why I’m talking so much about this subject: Under Pluto in the 8th house, you attract very intense people in the area of life that has to do with sexual attraction, power, and trust. This means that you’re going to be magnetic towards people that are intense and good for you (and potentially have really GREAT times with them in the bedroom, you may even stay with one of them forever). But you’re also bound to attract other types of people who aren’t so great. The good news is that you can get rid of them again or not let them into your life in the first place: but because you’re attracting both in different intensities, it’s important to know how to protect yourself in basic ways so that you can stay safe and have the maximum of fun.
The most important safety precaution you can take is to train and listen to your intuition. If you need tools to access it like tarot, astrology, or whatever it is, use it – but listen to it. Under this transit, your psychic muscles are becoming so strong that you can avoid up to 90% of all the stuff I just warned you about. So please, listen to your gut.
Now, let’s actually talk about the fun stuff.
Intimacy can be emotional with no sexual component – you can have intimate conversations with your best friend or anyone else that you trust, etc. – and it’s highlighted at this point in your life. Many people who go through this astrological event really use this time to learn how to open their hearts and be vulnerable with other people (who deserve that type of trust because not everyone does.) Under this influence, people develop the courage to let another person see all there is to them – all their beautiful, all their ugly, and all their broken – and be accepted and loved for who they are.
Trust doesn’t stay one-sided: you’ll likely encounter stunning moments of emotional connection with other people from all walks of life where they trust you with a truly staggering view of where they’re vulnerable. Secrets can be exchanged at that time and relationships build that sits on the foundation of absolute truth and mutual soul-deep connection because both know who the other is deep down. Romantic connections in particular can become extremely passionate and very resilient.
This event can truly bring in the most beautiful “til death does us part” types of relationships you can imagine. That can be with friends and family that are your ride-or-die, it can be a romantic partner. Whatever it is, Pluto in the eighth house can bring the most wonderful and life-changing, transformative relationships in… so you can look forward to that.
People also explore their sexuality in lots of ways, as the truth (Pluto and the 8th) or their sexuality (also Pluto and the 8th) comes out. This can lead to people trying out new things or just returning to what they always know they needed. But in any case, this transit means that sexual contact has the power to truly bond you to another human being and to transform you. If, of course, it’s based on trust. Again, one-night stands are mostly 5th house (though it does depend on whether your heart’s in it and on how vulnerable you get in that moment).
Power and Trust
Pluto journeying through the eighth house also has another facet: Power. Power wears many faces. You can have “the voice behind the throne” or “the neck that turns the head of the kingdom” as a metaphor for a more hidden position of power that’s derived through relationships with others. You can have someone who actually holds a position of power or authority… and you can have people with a skill set that makes them more powerful than other people. Power can also come through trust, through knowing someone’s secrets, or through having access to a resource others don’t have. But people also do lots of things with power: some use it for good, others for bad. Some use it to oppress and subjugate other people, while others keep their power while letting others be themselves.
Under Pluto in the eighth, you’ll learn about all sorts of power by being in close contact with people who wield it differently… and, over the course of this astrological event, you’ll also get the opportunity to exercise power in a way of your choosing. Part of this transit is you stepping into your own power and recognizing a) where your power comes from, b) what you want to do with it, and c) whether/how you want to gain more power. The answers are up to you.
It's also plainly about how to be self-empowered. And the trick is, the answer is not going to be uniform for all of humanity. For one person, dressing in sexy clothes is them owning themselves and makes them feel like they’re truly empowered (for the first time). For another, sexy clothes are a prison of the soul, something they may only do because they’re feeling forced to do it – and it makes them feel small, vulnerable, cheap, and less-than. And for a third person, it may be something they do because they desperately want to feel empowered – but they don’t feel empowered through that. Maybe they find another way to chase the sense of being in control of themselves and on top of their lives, or maybe they dress down more and more and more in the hope that they’ll finally “get it right” and feel the way others tell them they should feel. So, where you get your sense of power depends on you (and your natal chart is a great indicator of seeing what works: so feel free to book a reading with an astrologer of your choice.)
To give another example, the same goes for having a high-paying job with lots of responsibility. Obviously, such a job is going to give you power through the role you play and the money you gain. But do you feel as though you’re in control of your life? Yourself? Your choices? Do you feel empowered? Not everyone in a powerful position is going to answer with “yes,” the same way they would in a completely different job. Why? Because we’re not all made the same. Some people feel more empowered being a baker than being a CEO. That doesn’t mean that being a CEO is wrong in any way, just as wearing sexy clothes isn’t wrong at all. It just doesn’t translate as an empowering experience for all people.
Power starts with being honest to yourself about who you really are – and then making the choice to live accordingly.
This leads me to another quite interesting phenomenon of the eighth house: trust. Pluto going through your eighth house is going to show you where you need others to have the power. Where you need to give someone else power OVER you in some way in order to benefit – and that requires tons of trust (one of the hallmarks of the eighth house).
BUT WAIT! Why would need to give someone power OVER you?
Let me ask you this question. Say you had to go through heart surgery. Who’s in power while you’re under the knife? – Not you. Hopefully, it’s a very competent medical team who’s in charge at that moment. Because, if YOU were in charge while you’re in heart surgery? There would be no surgery. And also, you’d likely be dead. (This doesn’t mean you’ll go through a heart surgery under a transit like this, it’s literally just an example to make a point.)
So, there are times when we have to let go of our defenses and our power in order to trust people who are a) better suited for a job, task, or role than we are at that moment in time, or b) people that we want to surrender to or be at peace with personally. If you’re always holding on to power plays and games of “keeping yourself safe” in personal relationships, you won’t have personal relationships that are fulfilling. Sometimes, you have to show someone the soft belly of your soul and hope they don’t use it against you.
That’s life. That’s what it means to be human. And it’s a MAJOR lesson of Pluto in the eighth house.
Trust is what makes this possible and with Pluto here, you’ll gain more insight about why trust is necessary, where it’s appropriate, and who’s worthy of your trust in which situations. This can also morph into more existential questions like: “Where can you trust yourself?” or “Can you trust the universe? Humanity? A Power Greater Than Yourself?”
Having some trust in life ups your resilience and improves your mental health… because it allows the mind to rest, too. Cultivate it through Pluto’s journey through your eighth house in order to get the best you can out of this transit.
Truth
Healing, intimacy, power, trust. All these things have a common denominator: they only work if there’s truth involved. Truth is one of the biggest themes of this combination… and therefore, what you can’t do under this astrological event… is ignore the truth. Whatever it is. You ignore it and things start to majorly spiral in your life until you acknowledge whatever truth you previously suppressed.
Under this type of astrological event, people tend to get into situations where they are confronted with truths they couldn’t or didn’t want to see previously. This is part of what we discussed earlier with “big truths” on, f.e., our own mortality, the beauty and the horror of what it means to be human, and so on and so forth. You’ll be confronted with experiences that show you what’s up there. The good news is, you can choose experiences that allow you to be confronted with these things in a way you can manage: for instance, by reading a book on death or hospice work; by choosing to be present for your child’s birth; and so on and so forth.
Another aspect of this is one that you probably wondered about in the summary of the eighth house: shared resources/finances. The reason this stuff is part of the 8th house is that this has to do with power, trust, and truth. When you have money that you earn and don’t share with anyone else, you don’t have to be very conscious of what you’re doing with it. You can lie to yourself: but as soon as there’s someone else involved (taxes, a spouse, and so on), you suddenly find yourself naturally confronted with your spending habits, the truth of your income, and the responsibility you carry with it. So, these are not things we’ll get into in detail under this article (as we’re already over the 5k word mark). Just please know that you may experience some changes in finances (that you share with someone else).
Conclusion:
This transit is an intense one. But overall, it can bring many good things with it! If you’d like to read Pluto transits through other houses, here's the list.
If you’d like some further reading, there are articles about Pluto's new shenanigans (going from 2023-2044) :
Alternatively, you can also read about Saturn's journey through Pisces (2023-2026) here:
See you there!
Alexandra