Unicorn Facts : You want to know all about the legendary unicorn? Just check this out...

by Jessica Miller March 04, 2020

Unicorn Mythical Horse

Symbol of pureness and nobleness, the unicorn is a mythological animal that, thanks to social media, has become fashionable, animal-totem and icon of a fairy-tale and enchanted world made of magic, uniqueness and tolerance. Let's get to know it better!

Rainbow Unicorn

What's a unicorn?

Also called horned horse, it' s a legendary creature similar to a white horse, but from which it is distinguished by a straight horn, wrapped in a spiral, facing upwards and placed in the middle of the forehead. It was the seat of his magical powers. In fact, it was thought that by removing it, the animal would die.

Born from traditional Indian and Chinese stories, which described it as a mythical animal, endowed with miraculous powers and able to appear only in case of extraordinary events, it was transformed, also because of linguistic misunderstandings, into a strong, dangerous animal, with the appearance of a buffalo (for Arabs) and then of a horse (Christians).

 


For Christians, in fact, it could only be tamed by a virgin, a symbol of purity and chastity. But it is mentioned in many scriptures, both ancient and modern (such as Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone), and represents everything that is beautiful, but difficult to capture.

Wild, elegant and free-spirited, it is a sacred animal that keeps demons at bay, which is why it has also appeared in music albums, paintings, gifts and clothing. It is even in the Book of Rites, one of the 5 bases of Confucianism.

Related animals similar to unicorn

In the tradition there are several mythical figures of horses similar to the unicorn.

Alicorn : In the Middle Ages there was the legend of the alicorn, a magical animal that served to render poisons harmless. One of the districts of Ferrara made its effigy, since, legend has it, it was able to purify the waters of the Po and make the whole area flourish.

Alicorn


Lioncorn. Representative of victory, strength and wisdom, present in many historical coats of arms (Borromeo, Palio di Siena, Canada, Lithuania). It was mentioned in the papal treasure of Pope Boniface VIII, but it was already very appreciated by Sumerians and Indians and known by the Greeks.

 

Unicorn meaning

The unicorn in alchemy was synonymous with Mercury, and therefore assimilated to gold, but also to living silver, as the elixir of long life.

Often represented next to water, for its purifying value, it is also associated with sunrise, or rebirth.

It has also been associated with the Moon, in more modern times, and by symbolic translation to feminine energy or yin.

For atheists, instead, it represents everything that is invisible and inexplicable, but believed by the faithful of every religion.

For Marco Polo, who is thought to have mistaken it for a rhinoceros from Java, it was dangerous.

 

Blue Unicorn

 

Today it is the fantastic, magical, ineffable and fairy-tale world that takes us back to childhood. But it also represents the emblem of true love and a pure heart.

In economics and especially in the world of internet startups, the unicorn is a newly created small company that is growing rapidly and has great prospects of establishing itself and achieving success quickly. And it comes from the British meaning of the unicorn as a metaphor for uniqueness. And it is in fact called a unicorn.

 

Why is the unicorn on a British passport?

Along with the lion, the unicorn is a patron of the coat of arms of the United Kingdom.

Unicorn British Passport

In heraldry, it is said to support that figure, for example animal, which supports the shield. The image is the symbolic representation of the union between England (represented by the lion) and Scotland (by the unicorn).

The unicorn in the Bible

According to Christian tradition, the white mantle and only horn represented the Virgin Mary fertilized by the Holy Spirit, and thus the Incarnation of the Word preparing for the coming of Christ.


Like all myths, it contains in itself ambivalence, in fact for Saint Basil was the Devil, while in the Talmud it is associated with wickedness. It is also present in the Old Testament of Jewish origin.

 

Psychological meaning of unicorn

Beautiful, enchanted and difficult to capture, in psychology the unicorn is a guiding animal, symbol of sensuality and spirituality, of inner strength combined with kindness.



For Carl Gustav Jung, one of the founding fathers of psychoanalysis, it was the union of the two sexes, and in a broader sense, the representation of the inner conflict between two opposites, as well as the harmonious conjunction of two poles.

As an image of will, determination and strength, this mythical animal tells us to give depth to our personal power to achieve our goals, using the sword (the horn) to overcome fears and injustices.

 

What kind of unicorn are you?

On our site you can find several fun personality tests, you can do the unicorn quiz, which allows you to find out if you are a real unicorn or not. Personally I am a cosmic unicorn and what about you?

 

Does unicorn really exist?

For the modern zoologists, the unicorn was nothing else than the woolly rhinoceros or elasmoteric rhinoceros, nowadays extinct. Even if it was the ancestor of the present rhinoceroses, its appearance was very close to those of the equines.


It is likely that in the Arabian Peninsula it was the antelope or oryx that was mistaken for a unicorn. Renaissance Europe saw it in the narwhal, while the Romans saw it in the white rhinoceros, probably imported from the East for the arena games.

 

 

In the castle of the MacLeod clan, in Scotland, is represented an alkaline antelope, an animal with supposed magical properties as it is able to kill lions. Due to a probable recessive gene, it can only have one horn.

Medieval art was probably inspired by the goat, as it is often depicted with split hooves and a beard. Moreover, due to a deformity of the tissues, the domestic goat can sometimes appear with the two horns joined together.

 

Real Unicorn

 The best known evidence of the real existence of the unicorn is the one found in Magdeburg, Germany. In 1663, in the so-called "Unicorn quarry", the skeleton of an animal with only two legs made of fossilized bones of mammoths or other animals was found and assembled.

In 2017, in the Sibylline Mountains, a roe deer with only one stage was sighted (in zoology they are called the horns of the animals). This is the only animal, present today in nature, closer to the iconography of the unicorn.


According to scholars, it is in fact likely that it was a real animal with a morphological anomaly, hence the character, cautious and elusive.

 

Do unicorn fish exist?

It is a subfamily of saltwater fish scientifically named Nasinae or Naso. They are particularly widespread in the waters of the coral reefs of the Indian and Pacific oceans, priced in the East African and New Zealand coasts.

They are known for the presence of two retractable crescent blades on the caudal peduncle, a bone that is used as a defensive weapon and that, for this reason, often presents a showy coloration (as in the case of the unicorns nose).

 



But the nose fish are also distinguished by a pointed protuberance on the head, which looks just like a nose/horn (brevirostris nose or brown unicorn fish).

 

Unicorn illustrations

There are many representations that can be found of the legendary horse. For many, it has bipartite clogs, goat's beard and lion's tail. For many others, it has a pair of wings.


Often referred to as calm and tame, it is also known to be dangerous, indomitable and brutal. In heraldry, it is often depicted rampant, with broken collar and chain, to represent freedom and escape from slavery.

It is seen above all as a small animal (symbol of humility) but invincible, its only horn in fact defined the closeness (or belonging) to power. In ancient artifacts, he is also given the appearance of an elephant, fish, beetles and donkeys. The characteristic that remains unchanged is the single-horned head.

 

How to draw a Unicorn

In today's mass culture, the unicorn is a white horse with a single twisted horn on its forehead, often depicted with a multicolored mane and tail, raised on two feet and sometimes winged.

But it is also possible to find alternative representations (whale, sheep, donkey, panda) or metaphorical (heart, smiley) with a single twisted horn, and illustrations in tribal, kawaii and stylized style.

 

Unicorn to draw


Internet is the ideal place to find lots of vector and non-vector, realistic and stylized images of the unicorn.

EasyPeasyAndFun provides many facsimiles, divided by category, to print and color, while on Pinterest is more than anything else possible to find illustrations, already colored, from which to draw inspiration.


Unicorn coloring


On Super Coloring there is a gallery quite full of unicorns to color. The first proposes animals in classic and kawaii style, while the second provides more realistic images, with different poses and features.

 

Unicorn tattoo meaning


The tattoo of this animal means strength, courage, elegance, wisdom. But also energy, spirituality and healing, (because of the supposed magical powers attributed to its horn).

It's normally white, it's not difficult to find other colors, perhaps associated with other mythical animals such as gnomes, fairies and dragons, to strengthen its mysterious and majestic aura.

A pair of wings emphasize freedom and frivolity, while tribal stylization emphasizes courage and inner strength.

For example, singer Lady Gaga has a unicorn tattooed on her thigh.

Rainbow Unicorn


In 2010, the animated film "Very Bad Me" revived the unicorn craze, perhaps as a reference to the much older My Little Pony, which marked the Millennial's childhood.

In 2016, with Jeremy Scott has walked the catwalks of fashion, unicornoma is only with social media that has become a real trend, a symbol of inner strength and uniqueness.




But thanks to mane and rainbow tail, also of positivity and joy, diversity and breaking stereotypes.

After gadgets and birthday kits, it has become an inspiration for illustrations, hair-style, make-up and cake design tutorials. But on and off-line you can also find shirts with themed phrases, sheets, jewelry, chocolate, cappuccino, emoji and even farts!

 

Unicorn 150 and Unicorn 160

They were two motorcycles produced by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. The first was launched in 2004, the second a few years later. Both were characterized by a slim silhouette and iridescent colors.

 

Unicorn Spit


Unicorn spit is an all-in-one DIY product. It is in fact both a painting and a biting and iridescent finish. It can be applied on plaster decorations to give a colorful, bright and three-dimensional effect.

But also on metal, laminate, glass, wood, fabric, ceramics, concrete and more. On the internet and Pinterest you can find tutorials describing its use and ideas for inspiration. There are various sites that sell it.
 


Unicorn Pee


It is unofficially known as unicorn pee but was on sale as Clarins 230. It was a nail polish launched by the French luxury cosmetics company of the same name in 2011.

Its special feature was that the color, enriched with luminescent glitter, contained the entire spectrum of the rainbow, and with each pass, it changed from magenta with shades of rust and indigo to yellow and neon green.

It could be applied also on other glazes. One bottle cost about $150.

 


Unicorn Cosmetics is cruelty free?


Unicorn Cosmetics is a new British cosmetics company that owns a whole range of cruelty free and vegan products. The colors are vivid and pastel, fluorescent and iridescent. Online and in stores you can also buy glitter and vegan brushes, whose handles resemble the legendary animal's horn.

 


Are Unicorn Froot Loops vegan?

 

In 2018, Kellogg's launched a pack of Froot Loops (fruit-flavoured hoop-shaped cereals) in a limited edition inspired by the famous unicorn. It is not on sale in supermarkets, but you can find it on the internet and it is not 100% vegan, as it contains lanolin.

 

 

How to make Unicorn Frappuccino

 


Unicorn frappuccino is the recipe for a cold cappuccino that Starbucks launched in 2017 in a limited edition (although it seems the idea was for a coffee shop in Brooklyn called The End).

Ingredients for decoration:

 

  • spray cream or 1 pack of whipping cream.
  • pink food glitter
  • blue or blue food glitter

 

For the blue syrup:

  • 1/2 tablespoon of blue food colorant
  • 1/2 tablespoon hot water
  • 1/4 of a cup of melted white chocolate

 

For the frappuccino:

  • 1/2 cup of ice
  • 3/4 of a cup of milk
  • 1 or 2 scoops of vanilla ice cream
  • 1/2 tablespoon mango syrup
  • 1/2 tablespoon grenadine syrup
  • 1/4 spoonful of citric acid
  • 1 tablespoon of pink food coloring


Preparation. Start with the blue syrup, dissolving the food coloring in hot water. Incorporate it with melted white chocolate. To make it less dense, you can add a few drops of water.

Change to frappuccino. Create a thick cream by putting in the blender: ice, milk, ice cream, mango and grenadine and the dye. Dedicated to cream. After whipping, put it in a sac-a-poche with a star-shaped spout.

Assemble everything, filling the glass in half with the frappuccino, the blue syrup and the remaining frappuccino. Complete with cream and sprinkle with pink and blue glitter.

To make a frappuccino in a vegan version, just use cream and vegetable milk.

 


The other unicorn drinks

 


On the Net, you can find many recipes for cocktails, non-alcoholic, inspired by leocorn.

The Terranea resort has created Unicorn, a cocktail with ice, gin, lime and lemon juice, sugar syrup and strawberry sorbet. All with topping of turmeric foam, Chantilly cream and blue curaçao.

Even simpler is the Rainbow Unicorn. Form 6 colored ice cubes by adding 6 drops of coloring agent (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and/or purple) to a form of silicone: 6 for each color (and cube).

Once the cubes are obtained, place them in a very tall and narrow glass, respecting the order of colors. Just shake some syrup with some mint leaves and some ice. Pour it all over the cubes. Complete with sparkling water.

 


Unicorn meat


On the internet you can find canned unicorn meat, flavored with glitter. Yes, it's a joke, or rather, a publicity stunt for a gift idea, original and funny.

The list of ingredients is not real (100% magic, 100% laughter, love at will), because inside the can there is only a stuffed unicorn in pieces!

Unicorn Good Luck Charm


The rich and ancient symbology has made this fantastic animal a well-known good luck charm, a symbol of good luck.

 

Unicorn cake


Born as a good luck gift, it is a simple sponge cake with a sponge cake base that has decorations in sugar paste and dyes. On the internet you can find several tutorials, but the original recipe is by Jenna Rae Cakes, a boutique bakery in Winnipeg, Canada.

Ingredients:

  • Sponge cake (at least 3 18 cm diameter moulds)
  • vanilla flavored buttercream q. b.
  • food colors


For the decorations:

  • 150 grs. of black fondant
  • 50 gr. of pink, blue and yellow fondant
  • 50 gr. of white fondant
  • golden glitter food powder
  • an ice cream cone
  • cake pop sticks


Procedure:

Made, with black and white fondant, eyes, ears and horn according to the instructions of the tutorials you can find on the Net. Decorate them with glitter powder. It is advisable to prepare the decorations 1-2 days in advance.

Cook the sponge cake. Prepare the butter cream. Spread the butter cream between the different layers. If you wish, you can create a rainbow using food coloring agents, or you can alternate sugar syrup and buttercream to decorate with M&M's.

Cover the cake with the buttercream and keep it in the fridge for 1 hour. Cover the cake with white fondant and use strips of colored fondant to decorate the base. Place the horn and ears that you have mounted on the sticks and complete with tufts of colored buttercream, imitating the mane of the unicorn.

To make the vegan butter cream, just use a vegetable butter.

 


Kawaii Unicorn


Kawaii is an adjective of the Japanese language that identifies something funny, lovable and sweet. Everything that is represented or drawn according to this philosophy assumes anthropomorphic, graceful, childish traits.

Examples include Hello Kitty, My Little Pony, Japanese Pokémon and manga.

(photo)

 

Unicorn Gifts


Looking for a fun and original idea for Christmas? Give away a unicorn. From lamps to umbrellas, from cups to prints - there's something for every taste and pocket.

Particularly popular are the kawaii unicorns, which stand out on bags and pins, which color garlands and vases, or are transformed into sunglasses or plush. To satisfy emo and goth tastes, there are the skinny single-horn skulls, accompanied by black roses and crosses, dark dyed patches and t-shirts accompanied by punk phrases.

The trend of the last 2 years? The slime; if colored and iridescent they are called unicorn poop! 


So give them pillows with prints, lip gloss and slippers. But you can also find more sober, classic and elegant items, such as notebooks and beauty products. In 2018, the jewelry manufacturing and distribution company, Nomination, made it a lucky charm bracelet for the summer.

With Squatty Potty, unicorn farts are in a glitter spray to eliminate bad smells from the bathroom. For Neek's, it's a box of cotton candy instead. Under the name unicorn farts there are also face creams, body lotions and butters, and even a limited edition fruity and glittery sour ale.

 


Unicorn Jewelry

The Unicorn Kingdom offers a wide range of unicorn jewelry. These are small pendants and charms, also colored and kawaii inspired, to be combined with bracelets and necklaces.


Unicorn quotes


Umberto Eco, inspired by Leonardo da Vinci, cited him like this:

"But the unicorn is a lie? It is a very sweet and highly symbolic animal. A figure of Christ and chastity, it can only be captured by placing a virgin in the woods, so that the animal, smelling its chaste scent, will lay its head in her lap, offering itself as a prey to the hunters' lynxes."


In 'The Last Unicorn' (1968) by Peter S. Beagle, it is a 'mythological creature [that] has the power to keep an entire forest luxuriant and to bring back to life those who have recently died'.

As for J.K. Rowling:

"The blood of the unicorn keeps you alive even if you're one step from death; but the price you pay is terrible. Since you killed a pure and helpless thing to save yourself, from the instant the blood touches your lips you will live only half a life, a cursed life."

It's not a unicorn - it's a horse with a sword on its head that protects my hopes and dreams,' writers Tad Quill and Gabrielle Allan say on the TV show Scrubs.
Lady Gaga is the Highway Unicorn in the song of the same name on the album Born This Way, where she refers to the leocorn as a symbol of love ("follow that unicorn /On the road to love").

There are also many phrases, on the internet, and more generally in Anglo-Saxon popular culture, that use the unicorn as a metaphor for uniqueness, personal power and the achievement of one's dreams:

  • You are magic, like a unicorn.
  • Trust me, I'm a unicorn.
  • Be a unicorn in a horse field
  • Super girls ride unicorns
  • As long as we can dream, unicorns will exist...
  • The expression unicorns and rainbows is in fact the equivalent of our "roses and flowers".

 You can moreover find our unicorn jokes to deepen

 


Why is the unicorn so popular?

It is possible that reason resides in the dark times we are living in.

It is a fantastic animal, endowed with superpowers, capable of evoking enchantment and peace, thus distracting us from a not-so-happy contemporaneity.


When we celebrate Unicorn Day

And if you still don't have enough unicorns, remember that every April 9 is the World Unicorn Day.

At least on socials. How do you celebrate it? By dedicating a portion of your feeds to photos that bear witness to colorful, fairy-tale and fun activities.

 

Source : TuttoGreen

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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