Black humour

The upcoming New Moon in Gemini on May 30 is what I would call a maverick Moon.  It makes no aspects to other planets - it’s doing its own thing and listening to no one.   And perhaps in the wake of the difficult and intense energy of the lunar eclipse that’s something we should take advantage of and just do what Gemini does – be curious, be interested, think all the time, connect with others, join the dots - and then when that’s all done the average Gemini just makes up their own mind and does what they want.

 Mercury, the ruler of this New Moon, has been retrograde since the lunar eclipse and now sits virtually on the eclipse axis and, therefore, is re-iterating the theme of the evil Fixed Star Algol.  Gemini is a social, networking sign, working very much with humour.   I feel that with a Mercury retrograde sitting with Algol, we are talking black humour.

 I remember when a good friend of mine lost her very successful, dynamic, room-filling 21-year-old son she used black humour an awful lot in the early days of her loss.  We as her friends took our lead from her and whilst we did not feel that we ourselves could necessarily start any black humour within the situation, we understood that it was very much a coping mechanism within her at a time of extreme darkness and certainly made the situation easier and lighter for us. 

 The point in history that we are at now also feels dark and we are perhaps reminded that rather than moaning and whingeing constantly about our lot in life we can use humour, not only to convey our views and feelings but also to engage with and listen to others.   Humour can help us deal with dark periods in our lives when it feels as though life is against us and that we are having to battle our way through something that we have no preparedness for.   Dark times can be unexpected, cruel and go to the heart of our very existence – in a similar way to the hand my friend was dealt some years ago.  

 Using black humour is indeed a very British way of dealing with such events.   Love him or hate him, Russell Brand is a good example of how to get a message across using dark humour as opposed to preaching at people.  Neil Oliver is another example of someone who uses the interjection of humour within a strong message.  To quote one of his recent comments – books such as 1984 were not intended to be user manuals! Ricky Gervais likes to poke fun at the ‘woke’ brigade and cites old fashioned women as ‘you know, the ones who had wombs!’

 As the bottom of the cyclical index approaches at the end of this year, at the same time as the Saturn Uranus square tightens again during the autumn months, we have already been prewarned that we will have food shortages, war, supply chain difficulties, inflation, biometric controls, financial reset, monkeypox and labour strikes to deal with, just to name a few difficulties.   As the battle heightens again, we will have a final opportunity to face the fight between the old and the new, between control and freedom.  Perhaps this is the opportunity that really counts towards the outcome.  Mercury was the only god who travelled between the upper world and the underworld.  He confronted the dark and the light and was entrusted to negotiate between the two.

 Waggy fingered Saturn is strong still in his own sign but come next Spring that all changes when he moves into Pisces.  Uranus, however, wants us to consider going with the contrary option - the option that is not promoted by mainstream media – the option that comes within the black humour.  Saturn wants us to take our own responsibilities but perhaps also tends to make us feel burdened and leads us to moan, complain and find someone to blame for all our woes.  Uranus wants us to break free, to find a new way that does not conform.   And Mercury in this New Moon chart connects with our destiny and with Uranus.  Who will we be attracted to?  The person who whinges, moans and plays the blame game or the one who uses black humour to remind us that we can lighten the load?

 Mars and Jupiter are together in early Aries.   They were absolutely exact the day before this New Moon, hiding in the darkness that occurs just before the Moon is new.   Aries is fighting energy and in Aries it’s a gladiatorial fight.  All sides are going for the number one power.   That is palpable and it’s Joe Ordinary who is feeling like a pressure cooker is about to suck the lifeblood out of him.   But there’s a reprieve with Mercury retrograde calling for some kind of review, for some re-assessment and, as Mercury hits Algol and echoes the lunar eclipse, someone will surely lose their head.  Who wins - the white sheep or the black sheep who never quite manages to fit in?

 So, let’s go with the message of this New Moon.   Let’s use our brains, all our brains – head for logical thinking, heart from a place of love and gut from our intuitive senses.   Then read, network, talk, listen, chat, communicate until you work out for yourself what’s really going on in this world.   We will intuitively know the right direction and be able to ask ourselves what the black sheep would do.   And then entertain and make people laugh with the blackest humour you can find.  Who would you rather spend time with and perhaps even learn from – the one who is wagging his finger at you or the one who makes you laugh when you are in a dark place?

 It’s hard to have a war when humour is used.  Humour helps to bring divided people together and the use of humour certainly manages to make people think and get through.  Black humour may not change the situation, but it will lighten the burden and allow us to get through.  Just as my friend did.   Part of her will always be dark and scarred by events as will we, but there is always a way through to the light and the love.