Black unicorns: history, symbolism, and representation

by Jessica Miller August 21, 2024

Black unicorns: history, symbolism, and representation

Black unicorns spark curiosity and wonder with their mysterious allure.

Unlike the familiar white unicorns, these dark and powerful creatures carry a mix of fear and fascination.

Their unique appearance and rich symbolism invite us to explore a different side of myth and magic. In this article, we'll dive into what makes black unicorns so intriguing, from their striking features to their role in culture and folklore.

Get ready to uncover the secrets of these captivating creatures!

Characteristics 

Black unicorns are definitely a species of unicorn that arouses our curiosity the most.

These mythological creatures differ from the traditional white unicorn that we know. 

Indeed, white unicorns are representative of positive aspects, while black unicorns are often perceived as a source of negativity especially in view of their appearance and behavior.

 

Appearance

This legendary horse, is represented in many versions, some say that it is only the black version of the white unicorn but it is quite different:

Black unicorns are much more intimidating in appearance.

They are also described as having claws instead of hooves, which gives them blood-red eyes, and as being carnivorous, which gives them a much more terrifying appearance.

Moreover, they are much bigger, more powerful, more imposing and faster than the white unicorns.

This mythical horse also has a stronger horn. It is also a solitary creature living in the dark in dark forests near trees or rocks.

Being a creature living in the dark, it has the ability to see and move easily in the dark, but in return, it is vulnerable to sunlight.

However, despite all these elements that characterize it, which gives it a threatening physique this legendary horse is still beautiful.

Contrary to what we think, it is not dark beings that bring fear as it is claimed but in some cases the opposite.

Symbolism meaning

Positive Aspects of Black Unicorns

However, although they are often linked to many evils, it is important to point out that this dark ecchidia may be associated with positive notions:

Indeed, according to some versions, they are sources of prosperity, luck, healing, good fortune.

It is therefore an improvement of the unicorn as we know it in its traditional form.

This term is also used to designate an African-American man, educated, with an excellent job, a good financial situation, a good bank account, attractive without children and ready to commit.

The Dark Side: Evil Association

Because of the stark opposition in appearance with the light horse ,black unicorns are associated with opposite traits to white unicorns.

White Unicorns are also associated with virtue, goodness and success, unlike Black Unicorns which symbolize curses, evil intentions and are sometimes associated with bad omens.

This dark horse is also presented as a monster hunter and carnivore seeking to devour any prey that may be before him without any distinction or mercy which would make this dark horse a cruel predator.

 

Freedom and Power as Symbols

This magical horse has an obscure appearance and is associated with a sense of freedom.

Presented as a creature living in large forests often living alone, it is also endowed with great healing powers, for example in Greek mythology, whoever drank from the horn of this animal became invulnerable to poison and other stomach ailments.

 

Interpreting Black Unicorns in Dreams

Seeing a black unicorn in your dreams is not necessarily a bad omen, contrary to what you might think from their appearance, quite the contrary.

They are there to help the dreamer.

Indeed, according to unicornyard, they symbolize power and strength in order to incite the dreamer to make his own decisions to improve his life.

Unlike other unicorns, they are firmer guides to push the dreamer to move forward in order to overcome the barriers that stand in front of him to accomplish his goals.

Pop Culture

Because of its undeniable popularity, its characteristics, the aura that comes from it. This legendary animal is admired by many people around the world.

This mythological creature is not about to be forgotten since it is present in many of the media of our time related to entertainment such as video games, literature whether in novels or poetry, television or even music and not only in the fantasy aspect.

Video Games

Due to its undeniable popularity, it is not surprising to see that the black unicorn is present in many video games.

Often the legendary horse is portrayed as a powerful and evil creature.

Nevertheless, it is not only present in dark fantasy games.

Rappelz

In the video game Rappelz, a free online game is developed by the Korean company Gala Lab in which three different races are playable in a devastated universe.

These three races are: attackers, magicians and trainers.

The black unicorn is specialized in physical attacks.

Indeed, it has skills that can inflict considerable physical damage.

Moreover, it can evolve and be used as a mount during its third evolution and when it is at its maximum, it can learn a skill that attacks the target with a 100% chance of making a critical hit.

https://rappelzfrance.fandom.com/fr/wiki/La_Licorne_Noire

The Witcher 3

In the universe of the Witcher saga, in the third installment: the "Witcher 3 Wild Hunt" where you play the famous wizard of the wolf school Geralt of Rivia, the black unicorn is the name of a steel sword classified in the category of relics.

It can be found in the following places: In a chest inside the destroyed fortress.

On Kernun during the contract the lord of the woods. In a treasure kept by a northwest of the inn of the Crossroads.

https://sorceleur.gamepedia.com/Licorne_Noire

 

Nightmare Black Unicorn H1Z1

It is possible to equip your character with a black unicorn mask when playing H1Z1 during the nightmare mask event.

On Rocket League, it is also possible to customize your vehicle by adding a black horn resembling that of a unicorn.

Sims 3

It has been introduced in the additional disc The Sims 3 Animals & Co.

They look like any horse, except for the presence of their horn.

Male unicorns have the particularity of having a goatee and a lion tail.

They are most often white or black. A rainbow appears above their head.

When they drink during the day, at night, it is a big gray cloud.

When they gallop, they leave behind them a luminous trace and sparks.

WOW

It can also be found in the medieval fantasy world through the most famous massively multiplayer online role-playing game World of Warcraft.

Certainly, in 2017 the patch 7.3 update of the legion expansion brought 31 new mounts among them a black unicorn answering the name of lucid nightmare.

It attracts the attention of players in the framework where it presents itself as the loot of a Vow of Mystery. It is therefore a hidden mount in the game.

https://www.wowhead.com/item=151623/lucid-nightmare

https://www.wowhead.com/guides/lucid-nightmare-secret-mount

 

Music

2 Chainz's "Black Unicorn"

The American rapper and actor 2 chainz wrote a song whose title is "black unicorn" which evokes, the spiral, sadness, loneliness, melancholy, monotony but also hope and optimism.

One of the lyrics in the song "And here you are, a black unicorn, mythical, mystical, since the day you were born."

Aurelio Voltaire’s "Riding a Black Unicorn"

Aurelio Voltaire, an American-Cuban singer-songwriter and musician paid tribute to this dark horse in his song entitled: "riding a black unicorn" from his eighth album in this song the atmosphere is a source of horror, the singer speaks of darkness, darkness, and chaos.

TV

Saturday Night Live’s "The Last Black Unicorn"

The television show Saturday Night Live is an American variety show and live television sketches, broadcast late at night has dedicated a show to this mythological animal so special.

It is a sketch called the last black unicorn.

 

 

Books

Terry Brooks’ "The Black Unicorn"

A novel published in 1987, entitled the black unicorn in the fantasy universe theme, written in 1987 by Terry Brooks.

This is the second novel in the series The Magic Kingdom of Landover.

In the novel, she comes to the aid of the kingdom of Landover against the demonic forces that are trying to overthrow it, so the black unicorn is portrayed as a rather benevolent being.

This book highlights the qualities of black unicorns.

It especially highlights their power and intelligence, qualities put at the service of the characters.

In the first part of the book, she proves her speed and agility by managing to escape the men who want to capture her.

Later in the story, we learn that the black unicorn represents the imprisoned spirit of white unicorns.

Supposedly, it was the intensity of a white unicorn's desperation that forced it to use 100% of its powers, which made it black!

This means that black unicorns have the most developed powers.

Tanith Lee’s "The Black Unicorn"

Tanith Lee a British writer specialized in the universe of science fiction and fantasy she pays tribute to this dark creature in her novel whose title is "the black unicorn" published in 1991 it is the first novel of the trilogy The unicorn series.

The story tells us that a black unicorn was found in our world that nobody knew where it came from.

That not even a great witch named Jaive was able to solve the mystery.

But Tanaquil, Jaive's daughter, who had no magical talent whatsoever, understood that the unicorn needed her help.

Tiffany Haddish’s "The Last Black Unicorn"

Tiffany Haddish is an American actress and author who played the role of Nekeisha Williams in the NBC sitcom The Carmichael Show.

As an author, she has written a collection of personal essays that gives her name to this mythical creature with a dark aspect entitled: "the last black unicorn".

It is a personal testimony about the difficulties she had to face.

From her life in foster care to her fame.

Poems

Audre Lorde’s "The Black Unicorn: Poems"

A collection of poems written by Audre Lorde an African-American activist, feminist named "The Black Unicorn: Poems", which denounces the racism, discrimination that those who are not white are victims.

The poems deal with the difficulties she had to face in a racist and segregated America.

For Lorde, black unicorns are a symbol of power, but also of the suffering that comes from being considered an outcast and rejected by society simply because of the color of your skin.

Indeed, the author expresses a resentment of many feelings such as anger, power, loneliness, freedom, passion and being black in a white dominated world.

As a poet in these difficult times, the power of unicorns animated her.

Cyberdefense

The Concept of a Black Unicorn in Cybersecurity

In the venture capital industry, a unicorn refers to any technology startup that reaches a market value of $1 billion, determined by private or public investment.

In the venture capital industry, a unicorn refers to any technology startup that achieves a market value of $1 billion.

In the cybersecurity industry, the concept of a black unicorn refers to a cybersecurity company that can potentially be worth $1 billion in value.

 

Jessica Miller
Jessica Miller

Web author but above all passionate about unicorns and fairy tales since my earliest childhood, I love to share my knowledge and give some tips that will be useful to all lovers of the magic horse.



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