I only have part of that nodal placement... my NN is in Scorpio but not the eighth house... however, I also have an eighth house concentration of the sun, Mercury, and Venus, which is the highest concentration of planets I have in any house, and it ties in directly with my nodal story. My sun tightly squares my nodal axis, while Mercury loosely squares my nodes, plus Mars, which is conjunct my south node and one of my north node's rulers, and Venus is loosely conjunct Mercury (though not in orb of square with my nodes) and rules my south node (Taurus). So I have a very strong Scorpio/eighth house message in my nodal placements, possibly similar to what you're working with.
I've just been doing lots of work with my own nodal placements, trying to figure it all out, and for me it seems like a key theme is the need to integrate Scorpio/eighth house messages into my being. That's probably an important message for you, too. The basic message of the eighth house and Scorpio is transpersonal energies, and the interpretations of that can vary widely. In addition to compassion and empathy and partnership and cooperation, as someone else mentioned, that realm includes sexuality in general, death, the otherworld, the occult, archetypes, myths and legends, spirituality, shared resources, taxes and inheritances and financial support from others (all examples of shared resources)... and I would say healing is a key theme as well, based on my own experience.
In contrast, the realm of Taurus and the second house is much more concerned with material security, physical health, the need to build something tangible, and personal values. That doesn't necessarily mean selfishness. A person operating from a Taurus/second house perspective might, for instance, put supporting their family first and foremost. Not a bad thing in and of itself, but if your south node appears there, one possible meaning is that in your karmic past, you were so concerned with building material security and taking care of your family that other crucial parts of your development fell by the wayside.
Scorpio and the eighth house represent what you most need to develop within this lifetime. If you have any planets in aspect to your nodes, those planets, along with their signs and houses, are key indicators of what can help you grow in that direction.
For me, the Scorpio north node is in the eleventh house, which is all about society, tribe, social identity, and again, cooperation and shared resources. I see these transpersonal energies I have to work with--between an eighth house sun and a Scorpio north node--as being all about the energy currents that run through society. It's about working with that collective energy in one way or another.