it really is time to dispel all the fear and negativity associated with the 8th house; I have both the Sun and Jupiter in the 8th H and at the age of 60 I am still here to talk about it. It is not simply about death, but rather it represents the life cycles of birth and death, of which all things in life are subject to, in terms of endings and new beginnings. I can't help but think it has to do with things that tend to have significant psychological effects on an individual. Yes I have endured the passing of people close to me, but then most of us do at some point in time, right.
I am always trying to find a different interpretation for this house in particular. Represented by Scorpio it can be said to relate to crises that accompany Pluto and the ability to be able to overcome them, or to succumb to them. So it may also be about issues relating to power and control. Close encounters with death can in fact serve to either empower us, if there are legacies involved, however for others it creates trauma, which in turn serves to dis-empower us as we move through grief, if only temporarily.
It does not reflect our own death but it may have associations with the process of birth and live giving.
It is described as being associated with 'shared resources' described as death benefits, legacies, insurance [?] and taxes [?], but that is only on the material level of experience. So what can that tell us about our life or our situations? I can attest to that, having experienced inheritances from my parents, but since my Sun/Jupiter is opposed with Mars [2nd H], there were significant disputes involved in settling things up, admittedly; but still I think, 'there's gotta be something more than that'.
I can only conclude that since the other water houses relate to the psychology of individuals, along with the 4th and the 12th, the 8th also hints at the manner in which important psychological events or issues affect us as an individual. And then we always have to factor in the polarity of houses, whereby the 2nd relates to resources, which most people relate to at the financial and material level of experience only. But there too, there has to be more to it.
Thus, in the example given we find Sun/Jupiter and Mercury combined in the 8th. I can see this to mean there can be psychological issues that affect the mind, in this case, due to the afflictions of these planets with Pluto, which gives the person here even more apparent reason to be nervous or scared about it.
So how do we quell his fears about this configuration? Waiting for others to jump in here...