In this episode of Faith Meets Fate, the conversation turns toward Mindy’s story—a story marked not by rebellion or rejection, but by devotion so complete that it eventually asked deeper questions of itself. Joined by Ryan and Bianca, Mindy traces a life shaped by Mormon faith, motherhood, loss, illness, and ultimately, a widening spiritual horizon that made room for astrology, the divine feminine, and a more expansive definition of God.
Mindy’s early life fits comfortably within what many would recognize as an ideal Latter-day Saint upbringing. She was raised in a loving, stable family, one of seven siblings, deeply embedded in church life. Faith was not peripheral—it was central, structured, and sincerely embraced. Mindy was what she later describes as “true blue”: devoted to church teachings, leadership callings, scripture study, and the rhythms of religious life. General Conference, family home evening, daily prayers, and religious education were not obligations but sources of meaning and identity.
At nineteen, following a pattern modeled by the women before her, Mindy married. In Mormon culture, early marriage is not only encouraged but often framed as spiritual success. Astrologically, she later came to understand this period as a Venus-ruled profection year, colored by ninth-house themes of divine purpose and belief. At the time, the marriage felt aligned with what God wanted. In practice, it became a seven-year experience marked by instability, poverty, illness, and abuse. By the time the marriage ended, Mindy was a young single mother of three, grieving a miscarriage and carrying the weight of profound disillusionment.
Yet paradoxically, divorce brought relief. Mindy describes feeling her spirit return, as if life had re-entered her body. Despite financial hardship and exhaustion, she felt more alive and whole than she had in years. This turning point laid the groundwork for a different kind of faith—one rooted less in endurance and more in discernment.
Her second marriage, formed during a fourth-house, Venus-ruled period, unfolded differently. It centered on home, partnership, and shared responsibility. Together, Mindy and her husband built a blended family, navigating the realities of parenting, work, and education side by side. Over the years, their family grew to include seven children, alongside the invisible presence of multiple miscarriages—what Mindy lovingly refers to as her “angel babies.”
A defining rupture came in 2009 with the stillbirth of a daughter. The loss was physically traumatic and emotionally devastating. While the local church community offered practical support, moments of theological rigidity pierced the grief. Mindy was informed that her daughter could not receive a formal name and blessing recorded by the church, placing her outside the official structure of eternal family records. Though assurances were offered about the afterlife, the contradiction lodged deeply. The promise of eternal families suddenly felt conditional, bureaucratic, and painfully human.
Another turning point came when Mindy’s oldest child came out as queer. While she felt immediate love and recognition, the church’s response—marked by exclusion and shame—created a profound moral dissonance. Watching her child navigate rejection within a system she had trusted began to unravel long-held certainties. The faith that had once felt expansive now felt constricting.
Soon after, Mindy’s health collapsed. Years of chronic illness culminated in a period of extreme physical decline that left her bedridden and fighting simply to survive. This forced stillness became a crucible. With time, isolation, and relentless introspection, Mindy immersed herself in prayer, scripture, journaling, and contemplation. Ironically, it was through devout engagement—not rebellion—that her worldview began to shift. Profound spiritual experiences revealed how thoroughly she had relied on institutional authority—the “arm of flesh”—rather than direct connection.
As her health slowly improved, her curiosity widened. She began studying texts outside the traditional canon, exploring the divine feminine, Mary Magdalene traditions, and alternative spiritual histories. Travel became pilgrimage: England, France, Egypt, Germany, Fiji. Sacred spaces revealed themselves everywhere, regardless of religion. What stood out most was not difference, but sameness—people across cultures loving, sacrificing, and believing with the same sincerity she once believed only Mormonism possessed.
Astrology entered her life not as a belief system, but as a mirror. Her first natal chart reading felt more revelatory than her patriarchal blessing. Descriptions that initially felt foreign—particularly themes of individuation and being the “black sheep”—slowly revealed how much of herself had been muted by conformity. Over time, astrology offered language for timing, embodiment, and change without demanding obedience.
Through it all, Mindy’s posture remains open rather than adversarial. She does not frame her journey as an indictment of religion, but as an evolution. The church served her once. Now, something else does. Love—unconditional, boundaryless love—has become her definition of God.
Held by Ryan’s astrological insights and Bianca’s steady facilitation, this episode does not seek resolution. Instead, it offers recognition: that faith can be sincere and still outgrown, that devotion can lead not to certainty but to courage, and that meaning does not disappear when belief changes—it deepens.
