Introduction
Mars in the solar return eighth house is often a solar return placement approached with fear and trepidation. The eighth house is not the easiest of places for anyone and, as Mars has a habit of raging through every house in your chart without any thought for the consequences, that’s a daunting prospect. In the house where consequences can be life changing, that’s especially so. However, most of us who have this solar return placement will survive – one way or another – and in many instances, the the actions we take during the year will result in life moving in a new and more positive direction.
So, what kind of stuff will you have to face up to – or even face down – during this this solar return Mars placement? Forewarned is forearmed as they say – so, in order to put your mind at rest (I hope), the following post is an extract from the draft of my forthcoming book, Solar Returns: The Planets in Houses, which I’m hoping will be published early in 2024. It sets out some of the real life experiences you can expect to encounter when Mars rides into town…
Extract: Mars in the Solar Return Eighth House
When Mars is present in your solar return eighth house, it’s not unusual to be a little concerned. Raging, violent Mars in the house of sex and death seems to imply that you’ll be lucky to get out of the year in one piece, so I will say this up front – it will be advisable to pay attention to your personal security this year, deal with any health issues that arise, make sure all of your insurances are up to date, and don’t take any unnecessary risks. For many of you, that may sound like business as usual – especially if your birth chart puts you on the more careful and considered side of the astrological spectrum.
For the of you who are rather more lax about such things, it may be a good idea to start taking a little more responsibility for your actions or behaviour – especially if what you do has a direct impact on other people. Mars in the solar return eight house can come at you from the outside, so being subjected to external forces or the aggression of others – in whatever form it takes – may be an issue for some of you during this solar return year.
Mars is associated with sex, so you may want to pay attention to how you deal with sexual advances – especially those of the unwanted variety. Again it comes down to paying attention to what’s going on around you – whether you are in a relationship or not. In both instances, you may be made aware of how much power you have within the relationship – and the amount may seem to be ‘not much’, though in reality you may have more power than you are aware of. Events may alert you to that fact.
Coercion or exploitation is not a good basis for relationships of any kind – especially sexual relationships. Conversely, you may be the one actively seeking out a sexual relationship; if that’s so, the same rules apply regarding personal safety. You may need to exercise power and control to ensure that you remain in a good – and safe – place. You may want your sex-life to change for all the right reasons – though be aware of the connection between sex, power and anger this solar return year.
The eighth house is a place of unequal relationships and significant change – the type of change that is permanent and for which there is no reverse gear. I don’t know if you’ve heard of – or seen – the film,’Sliding Doors’, but those sliding doors are found at the entrance to the eighth house; once you’ve made the decision to walk through, your life takes a completely different direction to the life you would have had if you had remained on the other side. So, this year, expect to have to make a few major choices and important decisions.
With Mars in this house, you are likely to be the person who initiates change. That may sounds onerous, but the reality (for most people) is that Mars in the eighth house means you will be proactive or take action to leave behind a certain part of your life and embark on a new journey. You initiate changes that move your life onto a different trajectory. Not all of those situations are relational or sexual, as the eighth house has significant financial implications too.
Real life examples of this can be as follows: a client had recently retired from running her own business – a significant change of life direction. She had accumulated a lot of paper business records that were cluttering up her home office – and her life. They were the kinds of things you may be familiar with; old tax returns, bank account details, customer invoices, old business contracts and agreements that had expired – all of the usual stuff that, by law, business owners are obliged to maintain for several years.
The mountain of paper had grown exponentially, but during the year of this Mars placement, she decided to attack the problem and dispose of all the records that she legally could. So she shredded and burned – great Mars activities – until she felt she had the situation back under her control. Taking action to regain your power over a particular situation (and it can be any situation where you feel you need to regain the upper hand) is characteristic of Mars in this solar return house. The kinds of relationships or issues that surface are those where we feel we are in a ‘David and Goliath’ situation – and we all know how that turned out.
There’s an old saying that in this life you can be sure of only two things: death and taxes. Both are found in the eighth house and generate significant apprehension. With Mars here, you may spend the year feeling as if you are at war with the tax authorities or other financial institutions (such as insurance companies, pension providers, banks) or large corporate entities of some kind – in short, bodies who have a lot of money and a lot of power and who may seek to exert that power at your expense.
Mars is associated with the defence of the underdog – and you may feel like the underdog in question. If I may use some more real life examples: a client received a tax demand for a significant amount of money that the tax authorities claimed was overdue. Except he had already settled the account some time previously. Naturally, he felt annoyed (Mars) and had to expend a lot of energy (also Mars) engaging with the authorities to convince them that he had already paid his dues.
There are numerous other examples of Mars in the eighth solar return house that are similar to this. Clients have suddenly been investigated by their banks to ensure that there are no crimes like money laundering being committed – via their business bank accounts in particular (the eighth house is one of the business sectors and is associated with financial crime). A client had to repeatedly argue (over several months) for a work pension be paid into her bank account, as the provider failed to pay on the dates she was supposed to receive it.
Until the monies were received, she feared she may have been a victim of some financial scam. Those kinds of annoying occurrences that make you feel as if the world has ‘got it in for you’ (a quintessential Mars-type experience) are not uncommon during a solar return year with this Mars placement. That’s not surprising, as the eighth house is where we find ourselves in jeopardy. In some instances, you may need to be pro-active (Mars) to protect your interests during this solar return year.
One of the fundamental issues that arouses feelings of annoyance is simply this: it’s a solar return year where ‘other people’s stuff’ (and that has a broad interpretation) will become a burning issue. Either you owe someone (or they think that you do) or other people owe you. Taken to its logical conclusion, the concept of ‘owing’ or ‘being owed’ can have a much wider application than that of the financial realm. In all instances where this dynamic is apparent, you will be the party who initiates action to deal with the matter – and you will be the the driving force who sees things through to completion.
In the eighth house, these occurrences can happen quickly and appear to come out of nowhere. It’s advisable to deal with debts (of all kinds) as quickly and efficiently as possible. Be pro-active about clearing your current liabilities – and be prepared for one or two historic debts to resurface during the solar return year. Things have a way of catching up with you when Mars is in the solar return eighth house.
Further Reading
Saturn in the Solar Return Third House
Neptune in the Solar Return Fourth House
Solar Returns: Discover the Planets in Your Solar Return Chart
Solar Returns: Understanding The Houses Made Easy
Sara Shipman | Solar Returns: The Planets in Houses
Further Information
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© Sara Shipman 2023
Picture Credit: Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay
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