Unicorns, unveil the myth...

What a fabulous thought! Unicorns, beautiful white horses with a single horn attached to their foreheads. An animal that has intrigued man for centuries, symbolizing: purity, fearlessness, love, strength, grace, courage, hope and indestructibility.

"Like a lion, without fear of the howling pack; Like a gust of wind, ne'er trapped in a snare; Like a lotus blossom, ne'er sprinkled by water; Like me, like a unicorn, in solitude roam." - Hymn of Buddha

Unicorns were very sought after in medievil times, when it was said that the horn, ground into a powder, could prevent plague, epilepsy and other diseases known to influence man's happiness. It was also known to neutralize poisonous substances. Because of the rarity of this horn, many people would sell the horn of the narwhal (monodon monoceros - a type of whale known to live in the Arctic) as a fake alicorn (unicorn's horn). This is the reason why people came up with tests to tell if their alicorn was authentic:

The true horn placed into a closed container with a couple of live scorpions would cause the death of these venomous creatures.

The first writings of unicorns date further back than 2800 years before the birth of Christ. This animal is even mentioned in the Bible. Beautiful tapestries reflecting the story of a unicorn hunt, show us how important and rare these creatures really were. Hunters could not catch the unicorn during the chase, only a pure maiden could ensnare him, for he was attracted by her purity (Raphael produced a portrait of a young maiden with a small unicorn nestled in the crevise of her arm).

In the following quote of Johannes van Hesse of Utrecht one understands the true meaning and essence of unicorn, the goodness that it represents as well as the mystical air by which it is surrounded:

"To this day, it is said, malicious animals poison this water after sundown, so that none can thereupon drink it. But early in the morning, as soon as the sun rises, a unicorn comes out of the ocean, dips his horn into the water to expel the venom from it so that the other animals may drink thereof during the day. This as I describe it. I saw it with my own eyes." -Johannes van Hesse of Utrecht (1389).

The Chinese saw the unicorn as a symbol of wisdom. The fact that this animal was put into the writings of such men as Aristotle, Genghis Khan and Saint Gregory - these people being of different cultures, countries and eras - disproves the fact that its existence was part of some medievil hallucination.

It was with the commencement of scientific thought and the irrisistable urge of human beings to prove the existence of everything, that the flesh of unicorn ceased to exist. The hope and happiness that carried this being was, after this drastic change in our way of thought, reduced to symbolic meaning. We can only hope that the unicorn will arise again to teach us its true meaning and lift the wonderful and yet mystical veil that conceils it for ever more.

" 'Do you know, I always thought unicorns were fabulous monsters too? I never saw one alive before!' 'Well, now that we have seen each other', said the unicorn, 'if you believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?' " - Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass"

If you would like to see more of my images of unicorns then please click on the "Image Gallery" link in the navbar.