The 11th day of the 11th month of the 11th year is a popular day for weddings -- and for good reason, seers say.
"It won't happen again for 100 years," said Marjorie Rivera, a psychic who runs Divine Wisdom Shop in Castle Shannon. "But the number 11 is a power number. It gives a certain amount of energy to people who get married on that day."
Numerologists, who study names and numbers, believe that numbers vibrate with energy. They reduce most numbers to single digits and consider today's date to be 11/11/4 because they add the digits in 2011 together, said Francesca Szarnicki, a numerologist in Leechburg.
That won't matter for people who marry believing it's a special day, she said, because the number 11 is special. Numerologists consider it a "master number" because it's a double digit of the same number.
"A one and a one equals two," Szarnicki said. "The number 11 in itself is very powerful in bringing couples together and harmonizing."
The 11th card of the tarot deck, for example, is the Justice card featuring a woman holding scales, which signify balance, Szarnicki said.
"So I have to think the number 11 is very good for balancing karma," she said.
More couples than usual obtained marriage licenses this week in Allegheny County, likely because of the quirky date, said Terry Emmett, a clerk in the Register of Wills Office, where employees sometimes make bets on how many couples will apply for licenses around unusual dates.
"We've done about what we thought we would," Emmett said.
In a typical week, the marriage license bureau issues about 20 licenses, he said, and this week issued between 35 and 40.
One couple obtaining a license said they booked an appointment with a judge for a civil ceremony today at 11:11 a.m., Emmett said.
Heinz Memorial Chapel, a popular wedding site on the University of Pittsburgh's Oakland campus, scheduled two weddings, though not at that time. They'll take place at 1 and 4 p.m. -- set hours for Friday weddings, said associate director Ron Klebick.
"We usually see an increase when there is an unusual configuration of numbers," said Klebick, who noted the chapel normally hosts several Friday weddings a month.
Three 11s add up to 33, which reduces to 6 -- a love number, said Szarnicki, whose daughter is getting married on Saturday.
Is there something more special about that day?
"No," Szarnicki said, "that's just when she could get the hall in Oakmont and vacation days."
