Real Sex … With Saturn in the 8th House

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112photo © 2010 Mitya Kuznetsov | more info (via: Wylio)
This is a post about sex. Hooray! But hang on, it’s also a post about Saturn. Can these two subjects even be combined? People with Saturn in the 8th House of their natal chart combine them every day.

First, let me clarify what the 8th House is really about. Yes, it’s associated with sex, but it involves much more than that. The natural ruler of this house is Scorpio, so it represents instinct and forces beyond our control (such as loss and merging). It’s known as the house of shared resources like taxes, debts, loans, inheritance and the partner’s finances. It is also the area of the chart that magnetizes certain people towards us. Everything about this house involves sharing control with another; it is a window into our deepest fears, desires and anxieties.

The Eighth is not a lightweight house to begin with. Throw Saturn in there and things can get really heavy. Saturn in the 8th can manifest as a fear of getting close to someone, fear of losing control or, conversely, the desire to control another. Like all the water houses, it has connections to the past. Saturn in the 8th can indicate ideas inherited from the family that sex is “wrong.”

The good news is that all this intensity is the key to transformation. People with Saturn in the 8th take intimacy very seriously. They can work to transform (Scorpio) their fears (Saturn). Because the 8th is the doorway to their deepest psychological secrets, once this transformation happens, the effect can be mind-blowing. Let’s look at a few examples.

Saturn in Pisces in the 8th: Transcendence

Pisces’ lack of ego mixed with Saturn’s lack of confidence can mean an avoidance of sex altogether. Pisces is not the most realistic sign, so this person can end up disguising her fear as celibacy. She may convince herself that she doesn’t need to be intimate with someone because she is above all that. She attracts others who are physically unavailable: someone who is ill or restricted in some way from having sex. The silver lining is Pisces’s healing capacity. When placed in the house of instinct, the potential for transformational healing is great. The benefits of therapy are most easily accessed with this combination; avoidance of reality is transformed into the transcendence of fears.

Saturn in Leo in the 8th: Dominion

Here we have the planet of boundaries in the sign of autocracy. This person can develop a set of rules on how scenarios in the bedroom “must” proceed. The terror of losing control to another is magnified with this combination. She may attract domineering partners because being under someone else’s control still conforms to a set of rules. The key to moving beyond this is the inherent strength in the Saturn/Leo blend. Once this person sets her sights on something, she pushes through to the end, no matter what. If this ferocious drive is applied to conquering her fears, she can make a huge amount of progress.

Saturn in Taurus in the 8th: Self-Preservation

Saturn in Taurus can become concerned with the value of sex. What is the exchange between two people worth, exactly? An emotional exchange becomes practical, as the sensuousness of Taurus conflicts with Saturn, the Taskmaster. Fixations on quantity can develop, leading to the fear that there is not enough to go around. This can manifest as possessiveness on the part of the Saturn person, or she can attract needy, insecure partners. The key to moving beyond this is found in Taurus’ patience and persistence. Once this person is committed to moving past her fears (and this will take some doing) she will patiently work towards a solid goal. Laying out a step-by-step plan on how to proceed is the ticket. The path to self-preservation changes from possessiveness to the security of achieving intimacy with another.

Saturn in Gemini in the 8th: Criticism

Words can become weapons in this case. This person can attract others who use sarcasm and criticism of her sexual performance. This confirms the carping inner voice of the Saturn person which tells her she will never be good enough in bed. She can drain the joy and spontaneity out of sex by analyzing every detail. The plus side is that her magnified intellect can be used to rise above her morass of fears and insecurities. If her energy is directed in a constructive way, she can make some serious progress in plumbing the depths of her psyche. Logic can be used to get to the heart of the matter.

Saturn in the 8th can be a powerful barrier to intimacy, but this power is also the way past the barrier. When the fear is flipped over, the tools for healing will be found. Restrictions are transformed into the ability to open up to another person. This alchemy is what the 8th House is all about.

[Editor’s note: Although the feminine pronoun is used throughout for stylistic purposes, this essay is meant to be gender-neutral.]

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