I think it’s now confirmed that I have Mercury in the 8th house. My mother altered my birth time, and when I recalculated my chart, not only did Pluto shift into the 3rd house, but Mercury moved into the 8th. I started looking into Pluto in the 3rd, and so much of it resonated. Then, as I began exploring Mercury in the 8th, I came across something Howard Sasportas once said about siblings stealing inheritance—and it hit hard. It actually happened to me. I won’t be receiving an inheritance because, essentially, my sister swept it out from under me and my two other siblings. The pain of being cheated out of your rightful inheritance, especially by a sibling, is like being stabbed with a fork: it’s betrayal, tangled up in a bitter stew of resentment and disbelief. It stings deep in the soul. If this has happened to you, you can choose to transmute betrayal into insight, and victimhood into growth. Ask yourself: What does this teach you about power? About trust? About your own voice—perhaps long silenced in family matters? Pluto here suggests the potential for deep, karmic dramas with siblings, battles of will, silent feuds, or manipulations masquerading as casual conversation. It’s no small thing.

So what do you do now?

• Spiritually, this might be your chance to release attachment to material outcomes and claim your inheritance in maturity, strength, and wisdom — sounds a bit fluffy, but it’s genuinely empowering.
• Emotionally, grieve. Rage if you need to. But don’t bottle it — Mercury in the 8th doesn’t forget, and what’s buried always rises.

Here’s my “Do I Have Mercury in the 8th House?” checklist — complete with little tick boxes to smugly check off like a mystic investigator:

Mercury in the 8th House: The Checklist of Obsessive Insight and Occult Curiosity

• [✔️] Mentally obsessive tendencies
  You don’t simply think about things — you ruminate, dissect, and rehearse entire conversations in your head.
• [✔️] Betrayed by sibling(s) — especially around inheritance or shared resources
  Tick this twice and underline it if your sibling waltzed off with what should’ve been yours.
• [✔️] Fascinated by psychology, therapy, the subconscious mind
  Freud, Jung, attachment theory? Delicious. Shadow work? Oh yes, you’ve probably done it for breakfast.
• [✔️] Drawn to crime, mysteries, or dark human behavior
  True crime documentaries, podcasts about cults, or deep dives into serial killer psychology? Classic 8th House Mercury.
• [✔️] Unusually insightful about people’s motivations — you just know things
  Someone says one thing, and you’re already hearing the subtext screaming beneath it.
• [✔️] Fear or fascination with death, rebirth, and what lies beyond the veil
  You’re either spooked by it or can’t stop researching reincarnation, mediumship, or near-death experiences.
• [✔️] Private communicator — you don’t always say what you think, and when you do, it hits deep
  Words are weapons, and you use them.
• [✔️] Intense conversations, not small talk
  “How’s the weather?” is replaced with, “Tell me about your childhood wounds and the last time you felt truly seen.”

Funny enough, I came up with a mug slogan about this a while ago—Venus square Pluto might have had something to do with it.

• [✔️] Involved in (or affected by) financial secrets or taboo topics
  Hidden accounts, secret affairs, family cover-ups — you’ve seen things. Or you sense them even when no one speaks.
• [✔️] Possibly skilled in research, investigation, or any field that requires digging beneath the surface
  You’re Sherlock with a side of Carl Jung.

If you need more confirmation. Let us delve even deeper into the Mercury-in-the-8th rabbit hole. Here come 20 more  Plutonic indicators, all leading back to that shadowy nook where Mercury keeps his secrets:

Advanced Mercury in the 8th House Checklist 

• Often accused of “overthinking” — when really, you’re just ten steps ahead
  People say “you’re overanalyzing,” but you know you’re seeing what they can’t yet.
• A natural lie detector — you feel dishonesty in your gut
  One raised eyebrow and you’ve cracked the case.
• Trouble trusting others with sensitive information
  Trust is earned — in blood, sweat, and psychic vetting.
• Use of sarcasm, wit, or humor to deflect emotional vulnerability
  You joke — but your humor is like velvet over a dagger.
• Experiences with gossip, secrets, or being the family “confidante”
  People always tell you things they shouldn’t. You’re a vault with opinions.
• Unspoken family trauma filters through your awareness like background static
  Even when no one talks about it, you feel it.
• Deep interest in astrology, tarot, the occult or metaphysics
  You don’t just read your horoscope — you decode it.
• Drawn to taboo subjects others avoid: death, sex, money, power
  Polite company recoils. You lean in.
• May experience telepathic or psychic connections, especially with partners or siblings
  You text someone just as they think of you. Or finish their sentence — always unsettlingly accurate.
• Quietly competitive with siblings or peers — especially in intellect or verbal sparring
  You won’t start the argument, but you will win it.
• Sense of being ‘watched’ or analyzed — or doing the analyzing
  Either way, you’re never just in a room. You’re assessing it.
• Emotionally intense writing or journaling habits
  Your diary entries could be published as psychological cases.
• A tendency to keep “mental receipts” — you remember who said what, and when
  Like an emotional accountant. You. Do. Not. Forget.
• Fixation on fairness, revenge, or getting to the bottom of things
  You don’t let it go until it makes sense. Even if that takes a decade.
• Possibly experienced mental manipulation — or learned how to spot it early
  Manipulators might’ve trained you — and now, you see through them.
• Attracted to people who have secrets, shadows, or hidden wounds
  If they’re emotionally simple, you’re bored. Bring on the chaos.
• Can become obsessive about solving problems — won’t stop till it’s done
  You’ll skip meals and sleep just to find the missing puzzle piece.
• A Deep thinker — philosophical, existential, maybe even morbid at times
  You ponder things like, “What does it mean to truly know someone?”
• Mental transformations — your mind evolves through crisis, not comfort
  When life explodes, you don’t crumble — you metamorphose.