A Numerologist Decodes The Royal Wedding Date

Welcome to May — or, as we've been calling it, Royal Wedding Month. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's nuptials are a little over two weeks away and, when we're not browsing all the absurd merch that has launched around this couple's union, we're digging into divinatory practices to get a better idea of their future. Since we already have an idea of what the stars hold for the royal-couple-to-be, we'll now take a closer look at the numbers.

If you're familiar with the practice of numerology, you already know that you can derive a lot of meaning from a single date. All you have to do is "reduce" the date down to a single-digit number. For example, today's date, May 1, 2018, or 5/1/2018, would be reduced as follows: First you'd add up the digits of the year (2 + 0 + 1 + 8 = 11) and keep adding the digits until you reach a single-digit number (1 + 1 = 2). Then you'd add that number to the numbers associated with the month and the day (5 + 1 + 2 = 8). So, the resulting number, eight, is spiritually and symbolically connected to today.

With that in mind, let's discover the numerological significance of the royal wedding's date, May 19, 2018, with help from practical numerologist Felicia Bender.

The first thing that stands out to Bender is the number 19, a "Karmic number" with ties to the past. "It suggests that there have been infractions in a past life that are now being 'paid back,'" following an abuse of power, she explains. Seeing 19 come up can suggest issues around control, authority, and leadership, but it doesn't necessarily mean one needs to abandon their power altogether. Rather, 19 should be seen as a call to lead fairly and creatively — a fair ask of a noble prince like Prince Harry.

This might not sound all that romantic, but Bender says that an intense event like a royal wedding will, understandably, come with intense symbolic implications. "This is a dynamic day that will set the vibe for the energy of their marriage," she says. The number one, the reduced form of 19 (1 + 9 = 10, then 1 + 0 = 1), suggests a push-pull relationship between the couple's desire for independence and their shared need to learn the value of collaboration. As they embark on their life together, "the challenge will be to have two strong individuals who can simultaneously be strongly independent and able to co-create effectively in their relationship," Bender says. If you ask us, that's the challenge of just about every modern couple.

Lucky for the couple, there are a few other numbers that foretell of other, happier themes in their marriage. For example, if we reduce the month and day's respective numbers, five and one, we get six. "The number 6 is the home and family number," Bender says. "It is all about love, duty, service, and the domestic realm." If you'll recall, Prince Harry and Markle got engaged while spending a quiet night at home, "trying to roast a chicken," as they so sweetly told the BBC. No wonder domesticity and the home make a thematic appearance on their wedding day, too.

Finally, if we reduce the whole date (month, day, and year), we get eight, which relates to power, authority, and, specifically, money. This number's connection to Prince Harry and Markle doesn't get much clearer. "Certainly, a royal wedding presumes that their coupling will unite a 'power couple,'" Bender says.

Of course, the numerological meaning of a single date can't tell us everything about a couple's entire future, but this is more than enough to keep us thinking (and swooning) until the wedding arrives.