Rahu in the 8th house
The results given by Rahu in the eighth house of the horoscope
Rahu in the 8th house indicates a fault-finding, quarrelsome person, earning money by dubious means. These people suffer from public condemnation directed at them and may become involved in affairs connected with poisons, drugs or medical preparations. They are deceived by other people or else they themselves cheat others, coveting their money. But a certain piety is also characteristic of them; they may live long, but their death may be unnatural. (Tom Hopke)
Rahu in the 8th house and Ketu in the 2nd house: The 8th house shows the wealth of the spouse. When Rahu is in the 8th house, the person finds wealth and connections with the help of the spouse. The spouse and her relatives give him support. Often they have to accept help and money from the relatives of the spouse and from partners. There is a great probability of receiving an inheritance. This is the house of misfortunes, scandals and obstacles. The presence of Rahu here activates these indications. The person has to go through a hard life with great trials and humiliation. This is the worst place for Rahu.
Ketu in the 2nd house does not give a calm family life. Ketu blocks the harmony of the family. The person has to live far from the family, and if they live together, they live as strangers. The person does not have warm relations with the members of the family. Such a person quickly loses his composure. At such moments he does not control his words and deeds. If Rahu is under the aspect of malefics, the person faces enormous difficulties. This is one of the combinations that can be discovered in criminals. It may also be found in employees of law enforcement agencies. In people with such a combination a great interest in occult subjects appears. They may study occult subjects in order to use this knowledge for their own insidious purposes. For example, how to find treasure, to guess correctly the numbers and the tendency in a casino/bets/shares and so on… In the Jataka Parijata and in other texts it is written that if Rahu is in the 8th house under the aspect of malefics, the person's death will come from a physical blow, high temperature (infection), a fall from a height, a snake bite. For example, a close relative of mine, who had Rahu in the 8th house, worked in the police and died of pneumonia.
Ketu in the 2nd house makes it difficult to accumulate any fortune. Perhaps such people have pigment spots or pimples on the face. There may also be some defects of the teeth. In the presence of aspects from benefic planets this may go unnoticed. (Mahesh Dharmadasa)
Rahu in the 8th house
A short life, sickliness, problems in the family, an inclination towards deceit, fault-finding, quarrelsomeness, dubious means of earning, harmful habits, an interest in occultism. (Indubala)
Rahu in the 8th house: this placement has a bad effect on health and on the length of life, causes gout and rheumatism, and also indicates the loss of the partner and the possibility of being left a widow (in a woman's chart). The person has few children. An ordinary personality, does not care about the consequences of his actions. (Shri Govind Swarup Agarwal)
Rahu in the 8th, Ketu in the 2nd house: the karmic task
If there are no negative factors, then such a placement gives a long life. But Ketu in the 2nd does not contribute to financial stability. Stable finances will exist only if Ketu is in Sagittarius or Pisces. But even in that case the native will have to live through a significant financial loss at least once in his life.
Such a person has one oddity in the handling of money: stinginess in small things and thoughtless spending on large purchases. An addiction to games of chance is possible. Such people are unlucky in playing the stock exchange, but the pull towards games of chance is very strong. Such a person may lose literally everything. Many people with such a placement of Ketu have squandered the entire inheritance of their parents.
Such people love to wander and find pleasure in it. They are not very inclined to follow traditional religion and often invent their own philosophy.
Ketu in the 2nd adds bitterness to family life and requires the development of patience. In most cases in marriage the native falls under the influence of the marriage partner.
Ketu in the 2nd gives the voice a sarcastic tone and makes the person a cynic or prompts him to use foul language. An aspect of Jupiter on Ketu may smooth over most of the negative effects of Ketu in the 2nd.
Rahu in the 8th house promises to bring an inheritance and profit through the partner. The size of these profits depends on the strength of Rahu and of the lord of the 8th house. Sometimes such a person has to learn to accept means from other people humbly.
Rahu in the 8th strengthens all the indications of the 8th house: inheritance, common resources, losses, separation, the vicissitudes of fate, chronic illnesses, accidents, death, the length of life, sexuality, restoration, transformation, secrets, occultism, metaphysics, deep reflections, research, discovery, journeys abroad, strange adventures and unusual events.
Rahu in this position gives patronage to scientists, researchers, traveller-discoverers, seekers of adventure, insurance agents, bankers, spies, detectives, writers of mystical stories, occultists and those interested in antiquity.
If Rahu works through the lower energies, it may prompt the native to commit terrible deeds, just as in the case where Rahu occupies the 2nd house. This may happen because the dark side of life, which the 8th house represents, under the influence of Rahu may manifest its full destructive force. Therefore there is a fine line between the use and the abuse of the energies of the 8th house.
The karmic task corresponds to evening out the balance between the affairs of the 2nd and 8th houses (as discussed earlier), with the only difference that the native is inclined either to neglect the affairs of the 2nd house entirely, or to resolve these questions in a very strange manner: one needs to learn to take gains and losses lightly; it is also important to find a balance between practicality, connected with the element of earth and the 2nd house (Taurus) and the emotional side of life, connected with the element of water and the 8th house (Scorpio). This is a very difficult task, since the indications of these houses are as opposite as life and death.
It is important for such people to learn to control their speech. It is easier for them to communicate with others through the printed word, since otherwise they are poorly understood. It is also important to develop optimism, since Ketu in the 2nd gives the person pessimism.
Example: Albert Einstein
“Bhrigu Sutra” 8.22-23
If Rahu or Ketu are in the 8th house, the owner of the horoscope will be very sickly, and the length of his life will be 32 years. In the case of a conjunction of the shadow planets with benefics, the owner of the horoscope will live 45 years. He will live to 60 if the lord of the 8th house is strong or is placed in its sign of exaltation.
Other opinions concerning Rahu in the 8th house:
“Phaladipika”: Rahu in the 8th house — — the master of the horoscope will have a short length of life. He will commit bad deeds, will experience calamities and will suffer from rheumatism. He will have several children.
“Chamatkar Chintamani”: Rahu in the 8th house — the owner of the horoscope will be deprived of the father's property and declared outcaste by his relatives. He will be respected by the king and by learned people, but the members of the family will have little reverence for him. With regard to health, disorders of the vata dosha may be noted.
Note: Bhrigu Muni gives the same characteristics for the placement of Rahu and Ketu in various houses. His opinion is based on the fact that these planets are always in the seventh house from each other and both exert an influence on the house. However the other classical texts, apart from the “Brihat Jataka” and the “Saravali”, which do not describe the results of the placement of the shadow planets in the houses of the horoscope, hold a different opinion.
We should like to add several important remarks concerning the placement of Rahu and Ketu in the houses of the horoscope. Concerning the characteristics of these planets there are three main opinions: 1) they act as the lord of the sign that they occupy, 2) their nature is like that of Mars and Saturn, and also 3) the view of Kalidasa given below. An experienced astrologer intuitively understands what influences the shadow planets conduct when he analyses a horoscope or draws up forecasts.
Relying on the famous classical work of Kalidasa, the “Uttara Kalamrita”, it may be said that, being shadow planets, these planets are not regarded as the lords of any houses or signs. If Rahu and Ketu are in conjunction (in the same sign) with a planet, then they take on its qualities, become conductors of its energy, and in their periods, or bhuktis, act like that planet. When the shadow planets do not enter into a conjunction — they give the results of the planet aspecting them. And only when Rahu and Ketu are neither joined nor aspected by planets do they act as the lord of the sign in which they are placed.
If one of the two nodes and the lord of a triad are placed in conjunction in the 9th or 10th houses or if one of them is in the 9th, and the other in the 10th, a favourable yoga is formed, which will bring prosperity to the owner of the horoscope. If at the same time a malefic planet enters into a conjunction with or aspects one of the shadow planets, then the bhukti [sub-period] of the yoga-karaka will prove unfavourable.
And a last remark. Rahu and Ketu become beneficial when they occupy the positions of a triad or of a kendra from the lagna. The shadow planets also prove beneficial when they are joined with the lords of a house of a triad or of a quadrant. But if at the same time the lord of the 9th house also owns the 8th (in the case of Gemini rising), or the 12th (in the case of Libra rising), and also if the lords of the 9th or 10th houses are joined with the lords of the 8th and 12th houses, the beneficial results of the yoga are lost.
“Bhrigu Sutra” with commentaries by Indubala
«Jataka Bharanam» 17.94
The results of the placement of Rahu in the 8th house
If Rahu is placed in the 8th Bhava, then the person's enemies will be destroyed, he will get some urinary illness (for example, diabetes), pain in the anus, an illness of the enlargement of the testicles and anxieties (troubles).
Comments: Rahu in the 8th Bhava [house] will cause quarrels and disputes concerning wealth and property under a will, and the person will suffer from losses. He will also be subject to losses in his trading activity. There will be illnesses of Vata (Wind). There will be a danger to his house and wealth from thieves, his goods (things) may disappear. A person with Rahu in the 8th house is inclined to earn wealth by dubious, undesirable means.