The unicorn is a symbol of chastity. What does the symbol mean - unicorn

20.07.2017 - 11:50

The unicorn is one of the most ancient mythological animals. But these amazing creatures still jump on the pages of books and in numerous films and cartoons...

Virgins' Companion

Judging by the stories and legends, unicorns in ancient times actively inhabited the planet, and in different parts of it. Many peoples have legends about this amazing white horse with a long sharp horn twisted in the form of a spiral.

However, there are also historical “eyewitness accounts” who observed unicorns in nature. Ctesias of Cnidus, physician to the Persian king Artaxerxes, left his notes in which he talks about a certain Indian donkey: “It has a white body, a brown head and blue eyes. On his head he has a horn about an elbow long. The powder obtained from this horn is used as a remedy against deadly potions... These animals are extremely fast and strong, so that not a single creature, be it a horse or anyone else, can cope with them.”

Caius Julius Caesar also described some strange creatures “living in the wilds of the Garcian Forest in Germany and resembling a bull with the body of a deer, in the middle of whose forehead, between the ears, grows one horn, longer and straighter than any of those hitherto known.” .

It is interesting that, according to myths, the unicorn is tireless and can hide from any pursuer, and obeys only virgins. In the famous books about the M.I.F. corporation. Robert Asprin played this theme with humor. The main character Skeeve loved to pretend to be a grated kalach, but for some reason the pet unicorn only obeyed him, which served as a reason for many jokes from his friends...

The unicorn not only obeys virgins unquestioningly, but is also a symbol of chastity. In Greek mythology, the unicorn was sacred to Artemis, the virgin goddess. And in Christianity, the snow-white unicorn also symbolizes purity, purity and virginity and is the emblem of the Virgin Mary. Many painters depicted the Virgin Mary with a unicorn. In addition, if it was necessary to show the innocence of the girl depicted in the portrait, she was often painted together with a unicorn.

The unicorn as a symbol of purity and purity is often found in heraldry - for example, there are two unicorns on the coat of arms of Scotland. This mythical beast was present on the coats of arms of the noble families of the Shuvalovs, Romanovskys, and so on.

Hand Bucephalus

It is interesting that, according to legends, the famous Bucephalus of Alexander the Great is actually a unicorn, which the great commander tamed when he was still a child. Bucephalus was brought to Alexander's father, King Philip of Macedonia, by a certain merchant from Thessaly.

Bucephalus was distinguished, as befits unicorns, by his indomitability and violent disposition, and no one even tried to sit on him. But Alexander, who was barely 13 years old, decided to conquer the proud animal, despite the ridicule of adults who did not believe in the success of this enterprise. Alexander did not use the techniques of experienced riders who sought to break the will of the animal using force - throwing a cloak over its head, hitting with ropes or rods. He realized that the unicorn could only accept the rider voluntarily.

The future commander approached Bucephalus unarmed, throwing off his cloak. He bowed to the unicorn and said: “Greetings, noble animal. I came with friendship, so let me ride on your back just once now, and then you can choose freedom.” To the surprise of all those present, Bucephalus bowed his head in response - so that his horn touched the boy’s heart and allowed him to saddle himself.

Philip said with tears in his eyes: “Oh, my son, seek for yourself a kingdom equal to you and worthy of you, for Macedonia is too small to accommodate you.”
Since then, Bucephalus became Alexander's faithful friend and accompanied him on all his campaigns. The commander took care of his beloved friend and rode him only in battles. The unicorn was transported to the battle site in a cage, which was pulled by ordinary horses. Bucephalus became the talisman of Alexander the Great, and when the unicorn died, luck turned away from the great warrior...

Real unicorn

Strange as it may seem, perhaps the legends about unicorns have a real basis. In 1663, a large skeleton of a unicorn was discovered in Germany. It was found among other fossil remains in a limestone cave near Quedlinburg, in the northern Harz Mountains. But during excavations, the skeleton was damaged and was an ore of debris. However, the skull remained intact, as did the straight horn, over two meters long. A hundred years later, another skeleton was found - in Einhornhol.

In 1991, the famous Austrian zoologist Antal Festetics, a professor at the University of Göttingen, stated that he had seen a unicorn with his own eyes. He was filming a documentary about the nature of the Harz mountain range and one day he suddenly saw a unicorn galloping towards him: “There was a glow emanating from it. My horse backed away and almost threw me off. Then, as quickly as he had appeared, he disappeared.” However, the zoologist was ridiculed, saying that this was just nonsense.

However, nevertheless, a very real unicorn is known, living peacefully today. In 2008, a 10-month-old male roe deer was discovered in Italy with a single horn growing evenly and symmetrically in the middle of its forehead. He currently lives in the Prato Conservation Center

Magic alicorn

Unicorns are valuable to greedy people for their miraculous horn - the alicorn. They say that the once real unicorns were exterminated precisely because of the magical properties of the alicorn.

A vessel made from an alicorn has the property of neutralizing all poisons and, in addition, promotes a happy, healthy and long life for the owners of magic vessels. However, unicorn horns cost a lot of money and only a select few could afford them.

In 1550, the Pope paid 17 thousand ducats for the most beautiful alicorn ever seen, which, skillfully set in gold and silver, was presented as a gift to the French king.

In 1584, the Russian Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, during his coronation, held a rod into which was embedded a meter-long alicorn, bought in Europe for 7 thousand silver rubles.

And the most famous of all was the horn that belonged to the English Queen Elizabeth I. In the list of treasures of the British crown, it is listed as the Horn of Windsor and was valued at 10 thousand pounds sterling.

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The unicorn is one of the very few mythological creatures that is considered beneficial in almost all traditions. In the modern understanding, it is simply a mysterious beautiful horse with one horn. The traditional unicorn is a symbol that is represented slightly differently: with a goat's beard, a lion's tail and cloven hooves.

History of the unicorn as a symbol

Unicorns occupy a place of honor in Greek mythology, Chinese traditions, and the art of the Indus Valley and India. Greek writers, including Pliny the Elder and Aristotle, mention them in their writings. There are at least eight mentions of the unicorn in the Old Testament of the Bible.

In the art of the Middle Ages, the unicorn is a symbol with religious meaning. According to legend, a beautiful maiden in the image of the Virgin Mary managed to catch this wondrous beast and tame it in such a way that the animal trustingly laid its head on her lap.

Here the unicorn is a symbol of rethinking, the incarnation of Christ, and his death was seen as the Passion of Christ. The pagan image of a horse with one horn became highly valued by the church.

Unicorn magic

The unicorn is a symbol of magic. His magical powers are also legendary. His horn is harder than the strongest diamond, and is capable of neutralizing poisons. And the tears of a unicorn can heal both physical wounds and sorrows of the heart. Some of them can fly and talk to all kinds of other living things. The magical unicorn is a symbol of freedom, healing and beauty. Powerful magic wands had unicorn hair at their core, and its blood could heal a person who was dying.

What does the unicorn mean as a symbol?

The legendary white horse or pony with one horn is a symbol of purity and innocence in European mythology. Only a virgin could catch and tame him. What is the meaning of the symbol?

• Protection. The unicorn is the protector and patron of all virgins. Its horn has magical healing powers and was a popular ingredient in medieval medicines. It was a powerful antidote and protection from evil.
• Virtue. The white unicorn is a symbol of dignity, chastity and purity.
• Love and harmony. Unicorns are associated with the light of the moon, love, harmony and understanding. In medieval Europe, this gentle creature stood in opposition to the lion, which represented the more violent solar influence.
• Another meaning of the symbol is associated with courage, strength, and sometimes cruelty.

Unicorns in heraldry

The unicorn is also a prominent and significant figure in heraldic symbolism and is usually represented with a spiral horn of red, black or any other color.

The unicorn in 15th century heraldry is profiled with the tail of a lion and the hooves of a goat, symbolizing the breaking of the shackles of slavery. This was prompted by the sacred status of the unicorn in medieval times. Becoming more refined, it was associated with the attributes of Christ, the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary.

These solitary creatures personified the model of monastic life. The connection with the Holy Spirit made them a symbol of mysticism and spiritual values. In Scotland, two unicorns are depicted on the royal coat of arms; the British coat of arms displays a unicorn with a lion.

Belief in unicorns

Of all the mythical and legendary creatures, from the scaly dragon to the cunning sphinx, the unicorn has always been the most beautiful and most beloved. At the same time fierce and proud, he was noble and kind. While many magical creatures foreshadowed danger, the unicorn usually brought good luck. For many centuries, Europeans believed in its existence, as if it were a real animal that lived in a foreign country, such as India, Persia or Abyssinia. There was an opinion that it was not a magical creature, but simply a sample of foreign zoology. At present, there is hardly a person who believes in their real existence.

Description of unicorns

One day, a fragment of a description of an unknown beast was found, made by Photias, Patriarch of Constantinople (circa 810-893 AD). He's writing:

“In India there are wild asses as big as horses or even bigger. Their body is white, their head is dark red, their eyes are bluish, and they have an elbow-length horn in their forehead. The lower part of the horn, at a distance of about two palms from the forehead, is completely white, the middle part is black, the upper part is fiery red. Those who drink from a cup made from it are resistant to convulsions, epilepsy and even poison, provided that before or after taking the poison they drank wine, water or other liquid from these cups. Their ankles are very beautiful. These animals are very strong and fast, neither a horse nor any other animal can overtake them.”

Female symbol

According to legend, the unicorn is a symbol for women. It was believed that only a chaste young virgin with pure thoughts could catch him. Often on ancient paintings and manuscripts one could see images of these noble animals along with beautiful young maidens.

Unicorn in Canada?

Mostly any mention of unicorns is associated with China, India and Africa, as well as with gullible medieval Europe, which was characterized by belief in fairies, goblins and dragons. What do Canada and a unicorn have in common? Which country's symbol looks like a horse with one horn on its forehead? It is still located on the coats of arms of England and Scotland, and it also has its own legends associated with it.

As for North America, disproportionately horned creatures lived here during the time of dinosaurs, capable of piercing several other large animals with their horns. These include the suborder Ceratopsia (centrosaurs). These creatures looked like giant rhinoceroses, which were incredibly impulsive and cruel and belonged to the Cretaceous period. As is known, more than sixty-three million years separate the last dinosaurs from primitive man. However, early fossil finds were very helpful in fueling the idea that large fairy creatures such as dragons and unicorns once roamed the earth.

There are only two animals in nature that have one horn, the rhinoceros and the narwhal. The latter's tusk can reach 3 meters. It was truly a mythical sea horse with a horn. Found in Arctic seas, including the northern waters of Canada, the narwhal appears on a number of Canadian coats of arms. Animals, including bulls, deer, lions, griffins, unicorns - strong, fast and often ferocious - are a common practice in heraldry.

Unicorn as a national animal

Oddly enough, the official animal of Scotland is the unicorn. A fantasy character may seem like the wrong choice for a country's national animal, but that is not the case for a state that celebrates its love of a long history of myths and legends. Since the 12th century, the unicorn has been a Scottish heraldic symbol, appearing on an early form of William I's Scottish coat of arms.

Unicorns were worshiped by the ancient Babylonians, and written descriptions of them have been found in the texts of the ancient Persians, Romans, Greeks and ancient Jewish scholars. In Celtic mythology, the unicorn of Scotland symbolized innocence and purity, healing powers, joy and even life itself, and was also seen as a symbol of masculinity and strength. During the reign of King James III (1460-1488), gold coins were introduced depicting a mythical creature with one horn.

Unicorn today

People at all times have been fascinated by all kinds of monsters and mythical creatures. This fairy-tale character is still incredibly in demand and popular today. The image of a unicorn is found in films, literature, children's fairy tales, and comics. In souvenir shops you can buy a variety of figurines, jewelry, trinkets of all types and sizes.

Unicorn in heraldry

This term has other meanings, see Unicorn (meanings). Heraldic unicorn

Unicorn- an armorial figure related to non-heraldic. A pair of unicorns are shield holders in the coat of arms of Scotland, one each in the state emblems of Great Britain and Canada. The unicorn is considered a heraldic symbol of caution, prudence, prudence, purity, purity, severity and severity.

Usage

In appearance it is similar to a horse and differs from it in the horn with which its head is armed and its beard. If the unicorn had a crown, it was not on its head, but on its neck, in the form of a collar.

In heraldic books, the unicorn is likened to a brave soldier, “who would rather die than fall into the hands of the enemy alive”. There was another metaphorical interpretation of the unicorn on the coat of arms of a medieval knight: “enemies flee from a brave man like poison from a wonderful horn.” This is also a prototype of monastic life, the desire for solitude. The association of unicorn symbolism with the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ was highly valued, leading some medieval writers to suggest that the unicorn should not be tarnished by placing its image on a shield or crest. However, by the 16th century, the figure of the heraldic unicorn gained popularity in family coats of arms. Sometimes the authorities granted the unicorn emblem to a craftsman or trading company for the highest quality of goods. The unicorn is called leaning ( accule), when he stands erect with his front legs raised, and in a defensive position ( en defense), when he wants to defend himself with his horn. Rarely seen in other species.

Byzantium

The Byzantine emperors in state symbols, in combination with the double-headed eagle, used the four coats of arms of the largest prefectures of the former Roman Empire, namely: the eagle of Italy, the vulture of Gaul, the unicorn of Asia and the lion of Illyria

Russia

It was depicted on Russian gold coins from the time of the Grand Duke of Moscow John III and ending with the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (starting from False Dmitry I, it was also minted on silver coins). Since 1562, the unicorn has been depicted on the chest of a double-headed eagle, along with St. George, so in this era their semantics were equivalent. The symbol of the unicorn is contained on the double-sided state seals of Tsar Ivan the Terrible: Large (from 1562) and Small (from 1571), as well as the Great State Seals of Tsars Boris Godunov, False Dmitry, Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, on the seal of the Great Palace during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich. A seal with a unicorn was used to seal letters from Ivan the Terrible that were of a personal nature, for example, correspondence with the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery. The unicorn is also depicted on the back of the throne of the Terrible Tsar, on ceremonial axes, saddles, window frames of palaces, on the coats of arms of the Russian noble families of the Batashevs, Bonch-Bruevichs, Verigins, Kudryavtsevs, Ostafyevs, Romanovskys, Strekalovs, Turgenevs, Shuvalovs, as a shield holder is included in the coats of arms of the Boltins , Ermolovs, Kozlovskys, Saltykovs, Loris-Melikovs.

In addition, it is present on the coats of arms of the cities: Lysva (Russia), Saint-Lo (France), Lisnitz (Czech Republic), Vystutis and Merkin (Lithuania), Ramos (Switzerland), Eger (Hungary), Schwäbisch Gmünd and Gingen an der Brenz (Germany), depicted in the coat of arms of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

Kazakhstan

The coat of arms of Kazakhstan depicts a tulpar - a legendary creature that combines the horn of a unicorn and the wings of Pegasus.

Examples

Lion and unicorn

Main articles: Lion in heraldry, Unicorn in heraldry

Lion and Unicorn- an emblematic pair found in heraldry, literature, architecture and the visual arts.

The semantics of the pair “lion and unicorn” may differ depending on the cultural tradition and era. The semantics of the pairs “lion and unicorn” or “unicorn and lion” can be equal or different. The semantics of these two figures themselves can be considered together or be independent of each other.

A popular story is about a battle between a lion and a unicorn. Probably, the struggle of these animals symbolizes the victory of summer (Leo) over spring (Unicorn). Also, their battle can symbolize the struggle between two worlds: aboveground and underground.

According to Jonah and Peter Opie, as set out in the Oxford Dictionary of Children's Poems, the plot of the rivalry between the Unicorn and the Lion appeared several thousand years ago. This plot may correlate with the Vedic myth of the battle between Indra and Vritra.

The plot of the battle between a lion and a unicorn is in Edmund Spenser’s knightly poem “The Fairy Queen,” Lewis Carroll’s story “Alice Through the Looking-Glass,” and “The Book of the Pigeon.”

In English culture

Folklore

The poem about the battle between the Lion and the Unicorn supposedly appeared in the 17th century, after the union between England and Scotland. As a result of this union, the heraldic symbols of a lion and a unicorn were combined. A pair of unicorns are the shield holders in the coat of arms of Scotland. And the lion is the heraldic symbol of England. The Union adopted a new British coat of arms, in which a Scottish unicorn and a British lion support the royal heraldic shield.

Folk song text:

The lion and the unicorn
Were fighting for the crown
The lion beat the unicorn
All around the town.
Some gave them white bread,
And some gave them brown;
Some gave them plum cake
and drummed them out of town.

Translated by Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak:

The Unicorn fought a mortal battle with the Lion for the crown.
The Lion chased the Unicorn along the city roads,
Who gave them black bread, and who gave them pie,
And then they were driven out of the threshold to the drum.

Translated by Alexander Alexandrovich Shcherbakov:

They fight, they fight for the crown, the Lion and the Unicorn.
The Lion is chasing the Unicorn along circuitous roads.
They are given bread crusts and biscuits to both of them,
They drive away from the capital with the beating of drums.

Translated by Vladimir Emmanuilovich Orel:

a lion
And one
Unicorn
They fought over the crown.
Having broken the Unicorn's horn,
Lev beat him as hard as he could.
They were given apple pie
Noodles and pasta.
There was a noise from behind the doors,
Someone drummed
And the frightened animals
Driven away
Out the gate!

"Fairy Queen"

The second book of Edmund Spenser's allegorical chivalric poem The Faerie Queene depicts a battle between a lion and a unicorn. The unicorn attacks the lion by bowing its head, and the lion initially stands by the tree and, during the unicorn's attack, jumps to the side, as a result of which the unicorn gets its horn stuck in the trunk.

This poem was written in the 16th century, even before the unification of the Scottish and English kingdoms and their heraldic symbols.

"Alice in the Wonderland"

Plot

In the arrangement of the pieces before the start of the game, the Unicorn is classified as a white piece, and the Lion is classified as a black piece.

The Lion and the Unicorn, according to the King's first statement, are fighting for his own crown.

Lion and Unicorn are quite cute animals. The Unicorn tries to make friends with Alice, and the Lion offers to eat pie in honor of friendship. This is where some complications arise. Looking-glass pies must first be distributed and then cut. Alice tried to do everything normally. Suddenly, a drum roll is heard, and Alice finds herself in the forest. Leo can also be seen in the crowd at the carpet.

Allusions

The fight between the Lion and the Unicorn in Carroll's story is interpreted as a renewed process that is characteristic of the constant cycle of nature.

Lewis Carroll, writing the episode about the battle between the lion and the Unicorn, presumably had in mind the rivalry between William Gladstone and Benjamin Disraeli:

Who... will win... get... the crown? - Alice asked, breathing heavily.
- Oh no! - said the King. - What came into your head?

Carroll did not like Gladstone and had conservative views in politics. Contemporaries saw a caricature of Gladstone and Disraeli in a drawing by John Tenniel, who illustrated the book, as they were similar to Tenniel's caricatures of these politicians in the British humor magazine Punch.

Michael Hancher, a scholar of John Tanniel's illustrations, notes that the Unicorn's goatee, although similar to the beard that Disraeli grew in old age, is present on all heraldic unicorns. He believes that the allegory with Gladstone and Disraeli does not belong to Carroll or Tenniel, but was born from the readers.

Heraldry

In Russian culture

The emblematic pair “lion and unicorn” was widespread in Russian culture of the 16th-17th centuries. It is also found among the peoples of Siberia, for example, among the Yakuts. It is highly likely that the pair was borrowed from European culture.

Inkwell of the 17th-early 18th centuries. Russia. Plot: "The Battle of the Lion and the Unicorn"

There are three types of compositions: a confrontation between a lion and a unicorn, a pair on the sides of a double-headed eagle, a pair on the sides of a tree or other plant element.

"Pigeon Book"

The finale of “The Dove Book” shows the confrontation between a lion and a unicorn, which personifies the battle between Falsehood and Truth:

The unicorn is a beast - the father of all animals.
Why is the unicorn the father of all animals?
Because the unicorn is the father of all animals, -
And he walks underground,
And the mountains of stones do not hold him,
And even those rivers are fast;
When he emerges from the damp earth,
And he is looking for an opponent,
Or the fierceness of the lion-beast;
They met with a lion in an open field,
They, the animals, began to fight:
They want to be kings,
Take the majority over all the animals.
And they fight about their majority.
The unicorn beast submits,
He submits to the lion beast,
And the lion is signed - he will be a king,
The king will be over all animals.

Symbols of power

The lion and unicorn are very often found on royal utensils, thrones, buildings, etc. These figures are on the royal seal of Ivan IV. The throne of Ivan the Terrible is decorated on the sides with bone carvings depicting a rising lion and unicorn.

These figures, used together, can be a symbol of the main Russian principalities, around which the remaining lands of the state were grouped.

The rising lion and unicorn are depicted on the commanding ensign of the late 17th century, kept in the Hermitage collection; the banner that was with Ermak Timofeevich during the conquest of Siberia in 1581-1582, stored in the Armory; banner of a soldier's regiment of the late 17th century.

Architecture

The facade of the exit tower of the chambers of the Moscow Printing Yard is decorated with figures of a lion and a unicorn. These animals were also depicted on the logo of the Moscow Printing House - a lion and a unicorn under a crown, in a circle enclosed in a rectangle, with images of birds in the corners. This brand name has been used on the middles of books from the Moscow Printing House since the 17th century.

The decorative tier of the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, which frames the clock dials below, is composed of stone figures of lions and unicorns.

Arts and crafts

The battle of a lion with a unicorn is a frequent subject in the paintings of boxes and boxes, which was used until the 20th century. The animals were depicted in the pose of wrestlers, standing on their hind legs, they clasped each other with their front legs. At the same time, the curved horn of the unicorn pierces the head of the lion. The animals were portrayed good-naturedly.

Russian heraldry

In Jewish culture

The duel between a lion and a unicorn is a frequent image in synagogue paintings.

One of the midrashim tells how King David witnessed a fight between a lion and a unicorn. David was tending sheep and, mistaking the unicorn for a mountain, climbed onto its back. The unicorn stood up and the shepherd found himself in the sky. At David's request, God sent a lion, which forced the unicorn to prostrate, after which the shepherd descended to the ground.

Also, the lion is a symbol of the tribe of Yehudah, and the unicorn is a symbol of the tribe of Ephraim. The tribe of Yehudah led the Southern Kingdom of Israel, and the tribe of Ephraim led the Northern Kingdom of Israel. These kingdoms were at enmity with each other. After the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom were driven away, they are considered lost and will only be found with the coming of the messiah. The duel between the lion and the unicorn in the paintings reminds that with the coming of the Messiah, the previously warring Northern and Southern kingdoms, the symbols of which are these animals, should unite.

From the beginning of the 18th century, a lion and a unicorn began to be depicted on Jewish tombstones.

What does a unicorn tattoo mean?

Just a positive sign. Brings good luck.
Don't listen to idiots!
In the West, the unicorn gives rise to both positive and negative associations. It symbolizes courage, nobility, wisdom, but at the same time pride, rage and destructive power. He is a symbol of Christ and the Devil: the invincible power of Christ and the destructive power of the Devil. Chinese mythology attributes only positive qualities to the ki-lin. It symbolizes wisdom, justice and honesty. He appears only during the time of a just ruler, and his appearance marks the birth or death of a sage. The unicorn is a symbol of purity and purity due to the magical healing powers attributed to its horn and its association with Christ and the Virgin Mary. In the legend of a virgin, he unmistakably recognizes her chastity and, if the girl is vicious, he pierces her with his horn. The unicorn has long been credited with such a quality as royalty. Aelian (Greek writer) mentions that young unicorns were brought to the king and put on public display. European travelers talked about unicorns that belonged to the rulers of the East. The image of a unicorn is found on banners, standards and heraldry of countries such as France, Great Britain, Scotland, Italy and even Russia: the image of a unicorn was in the personal coat of arms of Count Shuvalov. The most famous is the coat of arms of the British Royal Army, which depicts a unicorn and a lion as allies.
The first mention of a one-horned animal in the West dates back to the 400s BC. e. It appeared in the book of the Greek Ctesias, who served for about 17 years as a doctor at the Persian court. Upon returning to Greece, he wrote two books - “On Persia” and “On India”. In the latter, Ctesias mentions large wild donkeys with dark red heads, blue eyes and blue bodies, with a horn on their foreheads. If someone drinks wine or water from such a horn, no disease will take him. Ctesias also says that these donkeys are extremely difficult to catch alive; hunters only catch them when they are with young ones that they cannot abandon.
The next mention of the unicorn is from Aristotle. He wrote: “We have not seen a single odd-toed animal with a pair of horns. But some, such as the Indian donkey, have one horn and are odd-toed ungulates. The antelope has one horn and cloven hooves” (“History of Animals”).
Julius Caesar describes an unusual-looking one-horned animal that supposedly lived in the Herkinian forest in Germany: “This bull is similar in outline to a deer, with one horn sticking out from the middle of its forehead, larger and straighter than any previously known. From its top branches spread out like an open hand.” ("Gallic War").
Roman writer Claudius Aelianus, born around 170 AD. e. , in the book “Motley Tales” mentions three varieties of unicorn. The first two are similar to the one described by Ctesias, and the third is a one-horned animal called a cartazon and lives in India. It is “about the size of a full-grown horse, is red in color, has the mane of a horse, and is very fast.” A black horn with rings or spirals grows between the eyes. Cartazons are not aggressive towards other animals, but are intolerant of each other: males fight among themselves, even attack females. During the mating period, the temperament of the males softens, but when the females have cubs, they become ferocious again. These authors undoubtedly contributed to the creation of the legend of the unicorn as an indomitable character, a strong and fast animal with a miraculous horn.
Now let's turn to China. The first mention of unicorns in Chinese sources dates back to 2697 BC. e. Charles Gould, who studied them, counts at least 6 species of these animals: ki-lin, king, kioh twan, poh, hiai chai, tudzhon shu. The most popular - ki-lin usually has the body of a deer, sometimes a horse, the head can be that of a lion or a deer, the tail of a bull or another animal, the body can be scaly. Ki-lin have one or two flesh-colored horns, sometimes only the tip of the horn is colored. Ki-lin combines men

What does a unicorn drinking water on its shoulder mean?

Seryozha

The unicorn is a mythical animal with the body of a horse and the presence of one straight horn on its forehead - an elegant but ferocious beast. Its white color symbolizes purity and virginity. The horn in the center of the unicorn's forehead is so sharp that anyone who touches it can cut himself. The unicorn's horn purifies everything it touches and is a symbol of purification and intelligence. The unicorn simultaneously means both male, pure penetrating power, and female wisdom, purity and chastity.
According to legend, the unicorn did not let anyone near him, only a virgin could tame him, feeling her purity, the Unicorn fell asleep at her feet, resting his head on the girl’s lap. In Christianity it is recognized as a symbol of cleansing power and female chastity. The unicorn, being a moon sign, balances the solar energy of the lion. In China it means abundance, longevity and the virtues of government.

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David Icke explains: “Around 2200 B.C. in Egypt, something called the Royal Court of the Dragon was formed, which still has inertly great power today, in the person of the family 4000 years later in England, and is the epicenter of worldwide control - the epicenter of the network that rules the world. The epicenter is in what we call the City - the financial district, as well as in the surrounding areas. The Bank of London is located in this area... The hybrids who were the rulers of the ancient Near and Middle East became the aristocracy of Europe and the royal families of Europe. In reality, there is only one royal family - it just exists under different names. Windsors are one of these lines.

Officially, the Windsors go back to the Hanoverian dynasty and William of Orange. All these clans and those initiated into their secrets are still, in fact, independent of their official religion (Jewish, Catholic or Protestant) and remain faithful to the cults carried through the centuries, practiced, in contrast to the official religion, at the level of the “inner circle” . In 1694, the Bank of England was created, and in 1702, shortly before his death, William of Orange approved the creation of a united East India Company, which became the main instrument of world expansion according to Dee's plan. It is this very “third force”, the geopolitical outlines of power, which was compiled by the “Elizabethan magician” John Dee, that is taking up arms against the Rurikovichs, and then the Romanovs, who came to power with the support of this “third force”, but, having fallen into the land of the Unicorn - Rus' , foreign enthroned proteges, are trying in every possible way to bypass this “third force”, and from them the mark.

The signs that humanity uses to designate state, political, religious and national symbols are not created for distinctive meaning. Signs and symbols have a deep sacred meaning, being the key essence - the portal of a specific program, which can become either a program for the stable development and prosperity of the (given) system, or become a destructive destructive virus. Therefore, the creation of new symbols must be taken extremely seriously. After all, when identifying a created social movement, party, festival or locality with any image of an animal or geometric figure, you must clearly know the laws of reflection and synchronization of energy-information fields, falling into resonance with the help of a frivolously chosen sign (for beauty or originality), you doom this space is severely dependent on the program of this sign.

The unicorn symbol in the name also carries totemic power and patronage if this symbol is used in favor of the Russian state. For example: “Unicorns” - an invention in the mid-18th century by Russian artilleryman S. A. Martynov and put into service by Shuvalov. Shuvalov's "unicorns", light and maneuverable cannons, fired cannonballs, buckshot, explosive and incendiary shells. In 1759, the Russian army, armed with these cannons, won a victory near Kunersdorf, and the following year the “unicorns” shelled Berlin. With the help of “unicorns,” Russian artillerymen, for the first time in history, used a new tactical technique that stunned the enemy: providing an attack with artillery accompaniment, they fired at the enemy over the heads of their own troops, that is, they did what modern troops widely use during battle.

Having knowledge of sign coding, you can predict the future of both an individual and each state, deciphering the symbols and signs in which they clothe themselves. Everything is important here: color, shape, and meaning.

But let's return to world historical chronicles about unicorns. The unicorn was first described in 2697 BC. in, where he was considered a divine creature living in a transcendental world. He was revered as the king of all creatures living on earth, and in power and wisdom he was compared to the heavenly dragon. The unicorn appeared out of nowhere, as an omen of good news and great (key) changes. In the 6th century BC. The unicorn appeared in the temple and dropped a jade table into the hand of a simple parishioner, Yen Chensai, where it was written that she would have a son who would become a king without a throne. Soon this woman gave birth to Confucius. In ancient Japan, the unicorn was credited with an unmistakable sense of justice. Sometimes he appeared in courts to punish the guilty and free the innocent.

In the 5th century B.C. many amazing stories about it were written by the Greek Ctesias of Cnidus, and in Europe the first mention of the unicorn is found in the dry military report of Julius Caesar, as a short report of a soldier who encountered a miracle, after which Caesar achieved the highest glory and power.

The Utrech priest Jhanson of Geze, who visited the Holy Land in the 14th century, described how a unicorn, lowering its horn into the river, cleansed the poisoned Marah River on the Sinai Peninsula, saving all animals and people from certain death.

Our (Slavic) ancestors called the unicorn Indrik, associated it with the feminine principle and revered it in ancient times much more than their Western neighbors. This is what the Dictionary of Slavic Mythology says about Indrik (authors: Elena Grushko and Yuri Medvedev): “The head and ruler of nature and the entire animal kingdom walks through the skies. When the Indrik Beast is unleashed, the entire Universe will shake! From his miraculous hooves all the ravines, hollows and valleys on earth came into being, which he filled with water...

Based on the ancient Vedic worldview, Indra riding the Unicorn personifies the god whose power extends from Earth to Heaven. But this is the entire manifest World, the World of the god Perun, and the Horse is one of the incarnations of Perun. By the way, in the ancient Vedas Indra is represented as the Thunderer, the god of war and victory. Therefore, Indra and are one person. Before the arrival of the northern Slavic-Aryan tribes to Indian soil, the local population knew neither Indra nor Indrik. Czech Indologists wrote about this quite clearly in their book “BOZI BRAHMANI LIDE”.

Back in the 17th century, healing properties were attributed to the horn of this “mother of all animals,” and the confidence in this was so great that even Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, according to courtyard books (1655), paid ten thousand rubles in sables and soft junk (furs). Indrik received the horn as a dowry from the daughter of the Cherkassy prince; this horn, which adorned the royal staff, is mentioned in letters and reports of overseas diplomats.

The Russian people of that time, knowledgeable in healing diseases, were convinced that the unicorn’s horn not only can help in various diseases and has antidote properties, but also gives special strength and power over people to the person who possesses it, as well as blooming health for a long life.” In addition, judging by A. Afanasyev’s book “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature,” these horns “... glow and are up to six spans long.” In addition, A. Afanasyev in his book cites some excerpts from Russian folklore, which talk about Indrik: “The king-beast lives in Mount Athos, he drinks and eats in the holy mountain and brings out children in the holy mountain when the beast turns “All the mountains and lands will shake!”

Having learned the magical properties of the unicorn, people everywhere began to kill it in order to sell the wonderful horn. Antivenom utensils made from horn became an integral part of royal houses and church treasuries. People with their own hands destroyed in nature the “eco-mechanism” for saving the innocent, purifying waters and a harbinger of good omens. The unicorn stopped visiting the material world of non-humans - insane, spiritless and irresponsible creatures before the Divine Nature.

We must restore our true history of sacred totem signs, and then no one will be able to manipulate the single nation - the “Russian Soul”. The Russian Soul is not a national peculiarity of a people defined by external signs and language, but a state of participation in the flow of the Holy Spirit. Under the sign of the Unicorn, spiritualized Russia will have no barriers to unity with the universal egregor of the soul of the World - the sacred wedding of soul and spirit, heavenly hierogamy. And such a unification is possible between all People in the Spiritual Society, and maybe then the old Alexandrian dream about community and unity of spirit between East and West will come true. According to the legend of Plutarch, Alexander the Great dreamed of a dialogue with Homer, which encouraged him to build a great cosmopolitan capital - Alexandria, where the priority was the Supremacy of Culture and the spiritual heritage of the World. I dare to suggest that the proposal of a marriage alliance from Elizabeth I to Ivan the Terrible in order to unite the lands from England to the Urals was either premature or too rational (without a wedding of souls), so it did not happen. And, perhaps, waiting for a more beneficial hour, the British chained the Unicorn in the hope that dreams would come true, and the spiritual capital of the world - the new Alexandria, would in reality become the capital in the embodied project of interstate eco-villages "Heavenly Country", reborn from the ashes under the symbol of the Unicorn...

“Russia is too powerful to pursue a national policy; its work in the world is the spiritual policy of the human race. Providence has made us too great to be selfish; it placed us outside the interests of nationalities and entrusted us with the interests of humanity. All our thoughts in life, in religion, in science, in art must start from this and come to this, this is our future, this is our progress; we represent a huge immediacy without a close connection with the past of the world, without any unconditional relationship to its present, this is our actual logical reality, and if we do not understand and recognize these foundations of ours, all our subsequent progress will forever be just an anomaly, anachronism, nonsense" - Chaadaev P. Ya.

Richard Chancellor, the same English ambassador at the court of Tsar John IV the Terrible (1521-1556), wrote in the book “On the Great and Mighty Tsar of Russia and the Prince of Moscow”: “There are no people under the sun as accustomed to a harsh life as the Russians. I know of no country near us that could boast of such people. If the Russians knew their strength, no one would be able to fight them.” But the Russians, even almost 500 years after this characterization, still did not realize the essence of their Russian soul, unlike foreigners, who, perhaps, that is why they forged a symbol of strength in a thistle clearing?

Symbols of the new Russia are symbols of the destructivism of the nation

“Bolshevism, which came to power in Russia, initially took the “hammer and sickle” as its main symbol. This symbol of the country of the Soviets was defiantly raised above the exhibition in Paris by Mukhin’s “worker and peasant woman”; on the coat of arms of the USSR it covered the entire planet, and in the works of revolutionary-minded futurists of all stripes it became the main object of worship of their muses.

The pointed red pentagram appeared as a secondary symbol at the end of 1918, and was first proposed as an army emblem by Leon Trotsky, at the “prompt” of the American ones, who, after the “successfully” executed revolution, now determined for Russia a “special” place in the world space, and such a star turned out to be the most suitable symbol. The star in propaganda (for the people) meant atheism: “Man instead of God”, the construction of not God’s, but a “human” earthly paradise - communism.

A mysterious dark object was caught on the lens of a NASA satellite...

Unicorn- a mythical creature that symbolizes chastity.

Unicorn, a mythical animal found in many mythological systems, is named for its most characteristic feature - the presence of one long straight horn on its forehead.

The earliest images of unicorns are more than 4 thousand years old, found in India. Then they began to appear in the myths of Western Asia. In ancient Greece and Ancient Rome they were considered real animals. Images of the unicorn found on ancient Egyptian monuments and on the rocks of southern Africa are drawings of antelopes with straight horns (for example, the antelope beiza and oryx), which, drawn in profile and without taking into account perspective, appear to be one-horned. There were also one-horned antelopes, if the second horn was broken in a duel.

The first mention of a one-horned animal in the West dates back to the 5th century BC. e. Ctesias, who served as a physician at the Persian court for 17 years, returned to Greece, described wild Indian donkeys of massive build, having one horn on the forehead, as well as a red head, blue eyes and body. According to Ctesias' description, anyone who drinks water or wine from the horn of this animal will never be susceptible to disease. And it is possible to catch these unusually fleet-footed donkeys only when they are with their cubs, which they cannot leave. The story of Ctesias gained popularity thanks to the authority of Aristotle, who briefly mentioned the one-horned "Indian asses" as "odd-toed ungulates" in his History of Animals.

Roman writer Claudius Aelianus, born around 170 AD. e., in the book “Motley Stories” he talks about three varieties of unicorn. The first two are described as similar to the donkeys of Ctesias, and the third, Cartazon, has a spiral black horn, “the size of an adult horse, red in color, has the mane of a horse and is very fast.” Cartazons are not dangerous animals, but males are irreconcilable with each other and even attack females. The temperament of males softens during the rut, but with the birth of their cubs, they become fierce again.

In early traditions, the unicorn was also depicted with the body of a bull, goat and horse. Some attributed the unicorn with elephant legs and a boar's tail, which led to the assumption that the unicorn was based on a rhinoceros. Pliny calls the homeland of unicorns the country of the Hindus and central Africa. In one of the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, the unicorn has an extremely aggressive disposition, which further confirms its similarity to a rhinoceros. The Greek Physiologist notes that the unicorn is “a fleet-footed beast, wearing one horn and harboring an evil will towards people.”

In Greek mythology, the unicorn was sacred to Artemis, the virgin goddess. The Jews had the following legend: when Yahweh asked Adam to give names to all animals, the unicorn was the first of those named and thus was exalted. When Adam and Eve were expelled from Paradise, God gave the unicorn a choice: stay in Eden or leave with people. The unicorn chose the latter and was blessed for his compassion for people.

The unicorn played an important role in medieval legends and fairy tales; wizards and sorceresses rode it; he killed every person who came his way; only a virgin could tame him, and then he became tame, lay down on the ground and fell asleep. In general, if you manage to catch a unicorn, you can only hold it with a golden bridle.

Unicorns feed on flowers, especially rosehip flowers, and honey, and drink morning dew. They also look for small lakes in the depths of the forest, in which they swim and drink from there, and the water in these lakes usually becomes very clean and has the properties of living water.

Unicorns have long been considered enemies elephant and lion. Whenever they met, the elephant would certainly begin to fight and, as a rule, the unicorn would be the first to rip open the elephant’s belly. The lion could lure the unicorn into a trap: fleeing from the chase, he sharply turned to the side at the very trunk of the tree, and the unicorn, unable to quickly slow down, pierced the wood with its horn, after which the lion easily dealt with the enemy.

For alchemists the swift unicorn symbolized mercury. In the Moscow state, the unicorn became a symbol of book learning, since its image adorned the facade of the Printing House on Nikolskaya Street. Architect A. Shchusev placed a bas-relief with three unicorns on the eastern wall of the Intercession Church (1912) of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent.

In Russian alphabet books of the 16th-17th centuries. The unicorn is depicted like this:

“The beast is like a horse, terrible and invincible, has a large horn between its ears, its body is copper, it has all its strength in the horn. And when we drive it, it will run to a height and throw itself down, it remains without bones. It has no friends for itself, it lives 532 summer. And when it throws its horn to the side of the sea, a worm grows from it; and from this there is a unicorn beast. But an old beast without a horn is not strong, becomes orphaned and dies."

Unicorn horn(under the guise of which the tusk of a narwhal, exported by the Norwegians, Danes and Russian coast-dwellers from the polar regions, as well as the horn of a rhinoceros and a mammoth tusk was mostly sold) was used for various products, for example, for scepters and staves, and was valued very dearly, especially because in in the form of grated powder, it was considered a wonderful healing remedy for various diseases - from fever, epilepsy, fire (fever), from pestilence, black sickness, from snake bites, it prolongs youth and strengthens potency, and is also a remedy that protects against spoilage. The trade in horn cups, supposedly removing poison from food, flourished; it was believed that the poisonous liquid boiled in it.

One European miniature of the 15th century depicts Saint Benedict throwing away a piece of bread given to him: the reader of that time, seeing a unicorn next to the saint, could understand that the bread was poisoned, and the saint, with the help of God, guessed it. The unicorn's horn allegedly fogged up when approaching the poison. During the Renaissance, a figurine of a unicorn was placed above pharmacies.

Unicorn - heraldic symbol caution, prudence, prudence, purity, integrity, severity, severity. If the unicorn had a crown, it was not on its head, but on its neck, in the form of a collar. In heraldic books, the unicorn is likened to a brave soldier, “who would rather die than fall into the hands of the enemy alive.” There was another metaphorical interpretation of the unicorn on the coat of arms of a medieval knight: “enemies flee from a brave man like poison from a wonderful horn.” This is also a prototype of monastic life, the desire for solitude.

It was depicted on Russian gold coins starting from the time of the Grand Duke of Moscow John III and ending with the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov (starting from False Dmitry I, it was also minted on silver coins).

Symbol The unicorn is contained on the double-sided state seals of Tsar Ivan the Terrible: Large (from 1562) and Small (from 1571), also on the Great State Seals of Tsars Boris Godunov, False Dmitry, Mikhail Fedorovich, Alexei Mikhailovich, on the seal of the Grand Palace during the reign of Mikhail Fedorovich.

The unicorn is also depicted on the back of the throne of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, on ceremonial axes, saddles, window frames of palaces, on coat of arms Russian noble families of the Batashevs, Bonch-Bruevichs, Verigins, Kudryavtsevs, Mansurovs, Ostafievs, Romanovskys, Strekalovs, Turgenevs, Shuvalovs, as a shield holder is included in the coats of arms of the Boltins, Ermolovs, Kozlovskys, Saltykovs, Loris-Melikovs.

In addition, it is present on coats of arms of cities: Lysva (Russia), Saint-Lo (France), Lisnitz (Czech Republic), Vyštutis and Merkinė (Lithuania), Ramos (Switzerland), Eger (Hungary), Schwäbisch Gmünd and Gingen an der Brenz (Germany), depicted in Coat of arms of the Canadian province of Newfoundland.

In fine arts

The plot of a unicorn and a virgin is common in fine art. The most famous works are the series of tapestries of the late 15th century “The Girl and the Unicorn” (Cluny Museum in Paris) and “The Hunt for the Unicorn” (Metropolitan Museum in New York). The first series features six tapestries, five of which symbolize human feelings, featuring a girl, a unicorn and a lion. Another series consists of seven tapestries depicting the hunt, killing and resurrection of a unicorn, and its captivity.

Hieronymus Bosch in his triptych “The Garden of Earthly Delights” (c. 1500) depicted several fantastic views of the unicorn: on the left side of his triptych there are three unicorns: white, “Scottish”; brown, deer-like with a curved horn; with the body of a fish floating in a pond. Also, unicorns stand around the pond, among people and animals. One has a horn studded with short sharp spines; the other has the body of a deer, long ears and the beard of a goat, the third has an horn that splits into two branches.

"The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Bosch I.

Fragments of Bosch's painting "The Garden of Earthly Delights" with unicorns.

Types of unicorns

British unicorn
A graceful white horse with a silver-white horn on its head. This is a British unicorn. Why British? It was just the first time he was seen in the forests of Britain. His body is quite powerful, but otherwise he looks like a horse. However, it differs from a horse in its cloven hooves (as is known, a horse is an equid animal) and, sometimes, in the shape of its tail - some species have a lion-like tail with a tassel at the end. His horn is white, with a slight silvery tint. Males have a goatee-like beard. They always have long hair growing on their pasterns. Their main color is snow-white, but occasionally they are also found in other colors.

Indian unicorn
Very graceful, extremely rarely stocky. They are smaller than the British one (reaching about 1-1.3 meters at the withers).
The tail is as elegant as they themselves - it is thin, with a tassel at the end. Somewhat reminiscent of a lion's. The color is most often white with a faint grayish-blue tint.
The horn of the Indian unicorn is longer and thinner than the British unicorn, and is no longer white, but silver or gold.

European unicorn
According to some sources, there once were Unicorns on the continent, too, they were very heavy and clumsy, gray in color, with a very small horn, about 15-20 cm. They had remarkable strength, but were very slow. He lived in impassable, swampy taiga forests. By nature they were very calm and phlegmatic.
Their hooves were very wide and cloven, they allowed him to walk calmly both through the forest and through swamps. In summer their coat was gray-brown in color, and in winter it was light gray with a warm undercoat.

Unicorn elementals or spirits
They are called so because they are divided into four types, corresponding to the four basic elements of metaphysics - water, earth, air and fire. Each of these species is divided into many subspecies - wind, rainbow (usually pink or purple in color), stone, sea, lake, etc. Each species has its own habitat, habits and type of behavior.

Winged unicorns

Some researchers consider this species to be a cross between a unicorn and a hippogriff, a flying horse. Others believe that it is a completely independent species of animal.
Winged unicorns also have several subspecies, differing mainly in the shape of their wings - butterflies, dragonflies (with transparent wings), kazhans (wings in structure resemble the wings of bats) and ordinary or classic - their wings resemble those of a bird and are covered with feathers, why are they sometimes also called swan.

These unicorns are lighter than ordinary ones, their legs are shorter, and their chest and neck muscles are highly developed.
In their natural habitat - mountainous and rocky areas - wings are used to maintain balance and overcome dangerous and difficult areas.

Unicorn Angel

In appearance it resembles a classic unicorn, although somewhat lower and more graceful. The angel has some properties of elementals - it can move freely through the air, although it does not have wings, live in water, pass through stones, etc. But this is not the main difference between an angel and other species. This species received its name for a peculiarity of its physiological structure - an asexual angel!
Angels are born from clots of light energy formed by positive feelings and emotions. When the concentration of energy is high enough, an embryo is formed inside such a clot, which gradually develops into a unicorn. Angels can travel between parallel worlds, and also instantly move to any distance.

Unicorn-Demons
The most dangerous of all types of unicorns. They find it difficult to tolerate the company of non-magical creatures and people in particular. Therefore, these unicorns live solitary lives, choosing dark, old and difficult forests to live in. The blood of this unicorn is extremely poisonous, so they are never hunted - a small droplet that gets on the skin causes terrible, non-healing burns. A wound inflicted by a black unicorn does not kill, but it causes violent madness - before the wounded person is isolated or killed, he will cause a lot of harm.
There are also subspecies that do not have a pupil. Black unicorns prefer to be nocturnal, as their sensitive eyes cannot tolerate bright light.

Small unicorn
This type of unicorn is most different from all its fellows, primarily in its size. Their bodies are smaller and more fragile than those of ponies, but much more muscular. In addition to a lush mane, they are endowed with a goatee-like beard, and their tail is more like a cow's, with a fluffy tassel at the end. Their short fur has a pleasant golden hue, which is especially noticeable in open sunlight, and an extremely long, yellowish-shiny horn. They live in numerous herds, called communities, mainly in open mountainous areas with adjacent steppe regions. Once a year, the animals go into the forest to mate, which, like other species, lasts only one night at the time of the spring lunar eclipse.

Silver unicorn

The most beautiful and noble of all unicorns and, at the same time, very rare. It owes its name not so much to its own color, as much as the silver color of blood. Although his fur and mane also have gray ebony shade. It is the size of an ordinary horse. Like small foodit is an alien, artiodactyl, and its tail is similar to an ordinary horse's. Another characteristic feature of her appearance is her bright blue eyes, fringed with long black eyelashes.

Mirror Angs
Some of the most beautiful unicorns. The fur of this unicorn resembles the finest wire. The furs fit tightly to each other, creating a continuous layer of “mirror”. If the individual is old enough, the mirror skin forms the upper hard layer, like the shield of an armadillo. Therefore, these unicorns are sometimes called iron or steel. This “armor” allows the unicorn to better defend itself and protect its territory and family. The silver horn also reflects light like a mirror.

The unicorn was depicted as a white horse with a red head, one horn and blue eyes. Known to be a small animal, fleet-footed and fearsome, with a single horn in the middle of its forehead. Depicted as a boar, rhinoceros, donkey, goat with one horn.

In the Vedas it is found as a symbol of male energy. The unicorn's horn is perceived as an image of the sun's rays, as a sign of intelligence. In Zoroastrianism, he is the embodiment of pure power with which Angro Mainyu was defeated.

In Christianity, the image of the unicorn, previously associated with the sphere of sexuality and fertility, turns out to be put at the service of the idea of ​​chastity and virginity. It was believed that in order to catch him, “a maiden is placed in a field, and he jumps onto the maiden’s bosom, and she warms him with her caresses and carries him to the royal palace” (“Physiologist”).

The unicorn symbolizes chastity and also serves as an emblem of the sword or word of God. Honorius Augustodunsky in his “Mirror of the Mysteries of the Church” says this about the unicorn: “A very ferocious animal, having only one horn, is called a unicorn... This animal represents Christ, and the horn represents his invincible strength. He, lying down on the Virgin’s bosom, was caught by hunters, that is, found in human form by those who loved him.”

Tradition usually represents him as a white horse with a screw-shaped horn protruding from his forehead. According to esoteric beliefs, he has a white body, a red head and blue eyes. The appearance of the image of the unicorn in the Middle Eastern and European traditions is sometimes associated with the influence of Indian mythology (the Atharva Veda tells how, during the flood, Manu tied his ship to the horn of a unicorn).

The Chinese unicorn kilin is considered one of the animals that bring goodness (along with the phoenix, turtle and dragon). His image is an attribute of high-ranking military leaders, an emblem of honor and nobility of the family. Its skin has five colors - red, yellow, blue, white and black; his cry is like the sound of bells. According to legend, he lives for a thousand years and is the main of the 360 ​​creatures living on land. He was considered the personification of moderation, a harbinger of the birth of a just ruler, a symbol of peacefulness (since when walking he tries not to step on anything living, eats only dried grass, and his non-sharp horn cannot harm anyone).

Legend has it that Genghis Khan saw a unicorn in the desert, which told him to stop his wars of conquest and return to his homeland. According to the most ancient interpretations, the unicorn embodies the virtue of humanity, philanthropy (ren). His horn is interpreted either as a symbol of the emperor’s autocracy, or as an image of a united country. The unicorn is associated with the cult of Confucius, since, according to legend, its appearance was a sign of the birth of a great sage.

In a Chinese parable from the 9th century it is written: “Everyone knows that the unicorn is a creature of another world and portends happiness... But this animal is not a domestic animal, it is rarely found, and is difficult to describe. This is not a horse or a bull, not a wolf or a deer. And therefore, when we find ourselves in front of a unicorn, we may not recognize it.”