The 8th House of your birth chart rules death, sex, taxes, investments and transformation. You may be thinking: "Am I going to die rich with a smile on my face?" The answer may depend on how transformed you are.
Prepare to learn about one of the deepest, most intense areas of your life: Personal Transformation. Transformation deals with changing from the old person you once were, to a new and much more evolved person who has positively altered his behavior. Have you ever had a major realization in life that you had to change your ways? It may have been an epiphany that came to you one day. Here are frequently heard statements made prior to transformation.
Statements Made...Just Before Transformation:
o"I promise, I'll never be unfaithful again."
o"My kid turned to drugs and I was too busy working to be a parent."
o"She said she'd leave me, if I didn't stop my abusive behavior"
o"I'm sorry, please give me one more chance to change."
o"I've lost everything, I'm ready to stop gambling"
o"The doctor says I'm a candidate for a heart attack!"
Maybe there was a special moment that caused you to "really...really" want to change, behave differently, and be a new person. Was it that Sunday at church after confessing your sins to the parish priest? Or, was it that morning your child said, "Dad, all my friends have their dads at the soccer games, but you're never there." Or, was it when your spouse said, "I will no longer live with an alcoholic like you. Quit drinking and get help or I'm leaving our marriage!"
Then, you made a commitment to change your life, once and for all. You began the radical shift in your behavior that allowed you to change in order to truly behave like a genuinely new person. Well, that's how the transformation process occurs.
For some readers, those may seem like extreme examples but they are from real clients who've had a deep need to transform themselves. In essence, these people realized that some aspect of their personality, behavior, or ego had to die for real change to occur.
Baby Face Nelson & The Pain of Transformation
The kind of major change that we're talking about doesn't occur automatically when a person finally declares he must change. The true transformational process that occurs in the 8th House, usually involves some sort of sacrifice, which may be painful. After all, you're getting rid of something bad in order for something better to be re-born and take its place. Be prepared to know that while a beneficial change is taking place within your life, you may not realize it's happening for 1 or 2 years. I liken the process to "watching a pot of water boil." Nothing seems to be happening for all the time you spend looking at that pot, however in time, the water finally starts to boil.
During this transformational process you may even feel shame and humiliation as you finally comprehend the true significance of your past behavior and its effect on you and others. Just imagine a criminal who gets caught for a crime, is convicted, goes through sentencing and is sincerely contrite for his crime. Quite often, he's ready to change his ways immediately. Of course, the courtroom judge is happy the criminal "sees the light," and wants to reform his behavior. Unfortunately, as part of his transformation process, the criminal will have to go through a long and painful incarceration where he can be properly rehabilitated. So, whether you're an addict, adulterer, absent parent, abuser of other people or just your own body; or someone who needs to strongly modify his behavior, the process of transformation is usually unpleasant and very long.
After all, what's happening is that one aspect of your life is ending and just like the criminal serving jail time, you're going through your own rehabilitation process, leading you to a true metamorphosis. It's a lengthy period of time that requires your sincere commitment and perseverance. Now that I've explained the process: Is there anything about your personality or behavior that has to change and be transformed?
The tremendous power of the 8th House of your birth chart provides you the opportunity to transform whatever isn't working in your life. But before the re-building process can begin, your inappropriate behavior must be eliminated. In essence you must take your psychic garbage out to the trash bin. Purging undesirable aspects of yourself allows a part of you to undergo a symbolic death, thus in a spiritual way, you die and are resurrected as a better person. This is why the 8th House is known as the house of renewal and transformation and is often symbolized by the phoenix rising up from the ashes to be re-born once again.
Of course, there are many less dramatic examples where you may want to create a change from who you are - to the new person you want to be. Hopefully, you'll be motivated because you realize that personal transformation will improve the quality of your life, your relationship with loved ones and friends, and benefit your career.
Even if you resist, perhaps you'll find someone who will know how to motivate you to go down the road to transformation. I am reminded of a famous quotation by a great influencer and motivator, the 1930s gangster, Baby Face Nelson, who once said, "You can get a lot more with a 'kind word and a gun,' than you can with just a kind word."
Just as Baby Face stuck a gun in your face to take your money, when a planet like Pluto transits 8th House, it can force you to hand over a prized position of great importance you'd rather not give up such as: "I really enjoy drinking alcohol," or "My favorite thing is to get high," or "I can't help it, I love to eat," or "I have to put in extra long hours to be successful." However, unlike Baby Face, Pluto has your best interests at heart, with the goal of making you a better person. But some times Pluto has to hurt you - to help you.
If you have an outer planet like - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune or Pluto transiting your 8th House, you'll have a unique opportunity to transform your life and change from the old person you were, to a new and much more evolved person who has positively altered his (or her) behavior. It may be the chance you've been waiting for to become the good Dr. Jekyll; or the one your family and friends have been hoping for - because you act like the evil Mr. Hyde. When the opportunity for transformation comes into your life: embrace it. It will change you forever.
If you want to know where your personal transits are - to see if they are affecting you, go to the Free Transit Calculator and enter your birth date. You may find that Pluto or other personal transits are bringing transformation to your life right now.
Larry Schwimmer is an astrologer in private practice. www.AstroDecision.com
Read Larry Schwimmer's latest books, What the Hell is Going On in My Life? Using Your Birthdate to Find Answers About Relationships, Career, Money, Sex & Health;and How To Ask For A Raise Without Getting Fired - And 24 Other Techniques For Resolving Conflicts At Work & In Life; and Winning Your Next Promotion In One Year (Or Less!).
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Larry Schwimmer is president of Astrodecision.com, a San Francisco-based consulting company. The firm uses planetary cycles analysis to counsel individual and corporate clients on picking the "best dates" to make successful decisions of all types: personal, marketing, financial, and political. The firm currently advises a diverse client base that includes politicians, presidents of major corporations and an MLB baseball team. Schwimmer is an internationally known business consultant, life coach and astrologer (with a Fortune 500 M&A background). Visit his website: www.astrodecision.com