Does Humour Belong in Astrology?

   This is a question that plagued me for a while.   How do you note humour in a natal chart?   My first idea, given one of the key components of what makes people laugh is surprise (or shock).   The twist at the end of the joke, if you don't see it coming, is what generally elicits the laughter response.   So Uranus/Mercury, a shocking flavour to how we think and speak.  This framework works well on occasion, but not all great comedians have a good Uranus Mercury aspect.

   Recently I came upon the tale of Hermes' first day of life.  Being a new born, he crawls out of his crib, steals Apollon's herd of cattle, gives them little booties so that no one can trace their tracks, invents the lyre, and does a few other mischievious things before crawling back into his crib and lying through his teeth when confronted.   Apollon sees through it, and brings him before Zeus, who finds the precocious ingenuity of this child's protestations of innocence so hilarious that he grants him full god-hood.  I'm sure Apollon was thrilled, but he actually does chuckle himself in some tellings.  

   So then, we find in the mythology a better frame-work for finding humour in a chart.   Mercury is the perenniel trickster archetype, which is one facet here, but Mercury alone, even with the shocking morally grey addition of Uranus, can lead to mischief with a nefarious end, and no mutually enjoyable humour to be experienced.  The trickster can be a bully only amusing himself with cruelty.  What is needed is a receptive end to the trick, someone who holds the right sense of humour to perceive the joke.  Who better than Jovial Jupiter himself, brimming with jolly joi de vivre, to get the joke in all his abundant beneficence.  

   It then follows, that what we realy want to see in looking for the comedic spark is a reception between Jupiter and Mercury.  Any aspect between the two will do, but to be in each other's signs is especially powerful.  If you add Uranus into that combo you have a really potent comedic stew going.   So let's stir the pot.  Post your favourite funny person in the comments and let's see if this theory retains water.