The complete story is told in Tequila and Chocolate, The Adventures of the Morning Star and Soulmate, A Memoir.

I am the Morning Star. Like many of the prophets of the past, I experienced the divine “call” as something heard and as something seen—in the form of a vision and a voice. I do not come from an established priesthood or hierarchy but I, as well as my wife, have been passed on the lineages and traditions of various indigenous spiritual and religious practices from around the world.

My vision occurred on the Big Island of Hawaii in October of 1993. My wife, Sherry, myself and a native Hawaiian healer friend were leading a group of our students to various sacred sites to experience the spiritual knowledge of the Hawaiians and the magic and power of the land and the sea. This was not the first time or the first group that we had brought to the Big Island. But this time we wanted to honor the land and the Hawaiian ancestors by conducting a very sacred ceremony called a “burning” or “feeding the spirits.” Mom and Vince Stogan, Coast Salish British Columbia elders and shamans, passed on to us the power and authority to conduct this ceremonial work after an intense apprenticeship.

A burning is a timeless ceremony that actually involves cooking food and then burning the food so that the substance and energy of it is taken into the Otherworld. This type of ceremony honoring the gods, goddesses, and ancestors by a burnt offering is ancient in form and can be traced as far back as the ancient Egyptians. In fact, our friend told us that this ceremonial way was part of the Hawaiian spiritual tradition of centuries past, but was a lost ceremonial art.

After we had completed the burning and scattered the ashes of the fire around the base of one of the palm trees, all of us returned to where we were staying to shower and then to share a meal together as an ohana. The ohana is very important to these islanders as it is to us. It stands for unity, love and always loyalty. The ohana refers to an extended family ideal, which includes not only the immediate family of mother, father, children and grandparents but also all things of the land, the sea and the sky. The ohana also includes the ancestor spirits—the ‘aumākua.

We retired early to our beds anticipating our journey the next day. We were going back to the white sand beach and the fishing village that I had visited only days earlier.

Burnings are very stressful for Sherry and me, so the thought of a restful night’s sleep before the next day’s events was manna from heaven. And it was very restful until early in the morning—pre-dawn:

Am I asleep or awake? I sit up in bed, am I sitting or still lying; is this a dream or am I awake? The night sky before me…. that star, why is it shining brighter than any other? A Heavenly Voice—This Star is you; you are this Star! The great purification is of the people! All are One….

Am I asleep? I lie back down….

As I awoke on Sunday morning, I was in awe of my pre-dawn experience. I was not sure if I dreamed it or if I was awake. The star was shining ever so brightly in the East. But what star was it? Who am I? What does this mean?

I briefly shared my experience with Sherry. We only had a short time before we needed to gather our group together and depart for the white sand beach. She suggested that I share the vision, as she called it, with our Hawaiian friend. I agreed that I needed to ask him his opinion.

As we arrived at the white sand beach, it was one of those most beautiful late mornings on the islands. The sky was a brilliant blue touched throughout with white fluffy clouds. My friend and I were both standing in the surf facing the ocean. There’s one hard and fast rule on these islands—never turn your back to the ocean as it is disrespectful and dangerous.

A short distance away our students were relaxing and swimming. We had a few minutes to talk before we needed to continue on to the fishing village. Before I could say anything, he began talking about the burning. It was a powerful and moving experience for him that included one of his ‘aumākua or ancestors coming to him in spirit form and dressed in full warrior regalia.

He paused, staring out to sea before he continued by saying, “My ancestor brought me a message… but it’s for you. My ancestor said that you are a kahuna po’o … you are a prophet bringing back ‘first knowledge’—the lost knowledge and sacred teachings that have been misunderstood, forgotten and corrupted. You have a message, path and way to share with this world, but do not identify it as being from these islands or other lands. This only separates people and does not unite them. Don’t get discouraged with the resistance you will face; it’s your destiny.”

I was amazed, but in my heart, I had always known the truth of what he was saying. It’s sometimes difficult to determine if it is your own truth from your heart or your ego speaking. To have it verified by another, as well as by the spirit world, was important to me.

I then proceeded to tell him about my vision and the voice. After I had finished explaining, he paused before saying, “In the East, brighter than the other stars… must have been the morning star.”

Even though my friend had potentially identified the star as Venus, I still needed to research and discover further proof that it was the morning star. I decided to consult my astrological birth charts – Vedic (Sidereal) Astrology & Western (Tropical) Astrology. Realizing that the manner in which the planets and stars are arranged in heaven when we are born is an imprint and reflection of who we are—a guide to our soul.

An astrologer who had read my tropical chart many years before had said that it was one of the most unusual ones that she had ever seen in all the years that she had been doing charts. One unusual aspect was that my chart was called a ‘bundle,’ a very rare grouping of planets clustering together. This means that there are no afflicted aspects between the planets but an abundance of helpful conjunctions. She went on to tell me that there was a cluster of planets all in the sign of Libra in the first and twelfth houses. Both of these houses represent the inner and outer self. Furthermore, early Christians considered Libra an emblem of Archangel Mikael,[ii] who wields the sword of Truth. Libra’s spiritual quest is the reconciliation of opposites, which occurs in the heart not the mind.

Libra is ruled by Venus so a number of planets in Libra, especially in the first and twelfth houses, would be evidence of the identity of the star. What I found supported my identity as the morning star: my rising sign is in Libra at 12 degrees 05’… in the twelfth house I have my moon at 8 degrees 51′ Libra and Neptune at 7 degrees 10′ Libra… in the first house Mars is at 12 degrees 44′ Libra, Venus at 21 degrees 32′ Libra, Jupiter at 24 degrees 53′ Libra and Chiron in Libra…6 planets all in Libra clustered around my Libra ascendant, and all ruled by Venus.

In addition, my moon is conjunct my ascendant, Neptune and Mars; Mars is conjunct my ascendant and Neptune; Neptune is conjunct my ascendant; and finally, Venus and Jupiter are in conjunction at only 3 degrees apart. Both Venus and Jupiter are considered morning stars. They are known as the Greater and the Lesser Good Fortunes of all the planets

My sidereal birth chart was pointedly more direct at identifying the star of my vision as Venus. Vedic astrology identifies your soul planet – Atmakaraka. My Atmakaraka is Venus.

Venus (Shukra) is a guru (teacher) to the demons (asuras), literally to those who don’t see the light. The Ancient Vedic civilization looked at Venus as the Sukrachara or the teacher of the demons but that does not diminish her spiritual role as a Guru and her greatness along with Jupiter as the world’s Gurus. Venus is also known as the Acharya of the Asuras. Venus as Acharya is a religious teacher. As a natural benefic, Venus is next to Jupiter. He belongs to the Brahmin caste.

The Sanskrit word Acharya means “one who teaches by example.” For Hindus, Christ is an acharya. His example is a light to any of us in this world who want to take up the serious practice of spiritual life. His message is no different from the message preached in another time and place by Lord Krishna and Lord Chaitanya.

Venus is a teacher and advisor regarding worldly matters. Venus teaches the secrets of immortal life and reminds us that we have to descend into the material world if we are to gain immortal life. Venus combines sensuality and spirituality and reminds us that we are in our highest Divinity when we enjoy life: to sing and dance and express joy through love, music, and dancing.

I am the Morning Star as revealed by my vision and the mandala of my soul.