What is the name of a unicorn with wings and a horn. Unicorn - a mysterious creature

Unicorn

The saint stood up, dropping pieces
Prayers broken by contemplation:
One who had escaped from legend walked towards him
A whitish animal with eyes like a doe's
Stolen, and full of melancholy.

In the relaxed balance of the legs
The whiteness of ivory shimmered
And the white shine, sliding, flowed through the wool,
And on the beast’s forehead, as on a platform,
The horn shone like a tower in the moonlight
And with every step he straightened up in height.

Mouth with grayish-pink fluff
Lightly highlighted with white
Teeth that became more and more sharply marked,
And the nostrils greedily absorbed the heat,
But things didn’t catch my eye:
He threw images around,
Closing the whole cycle of blue legends.

Rainer Maria Rilke

The UNICORN is a fictional creature, a multi-semantic symbol of various cultural traditions. The name is derived from the most characteristic feature - the long horn on the forehead. In European heraldry, it was depicted as a horse with a white body, a dark red head, a goat's beard, antelope legs, a lion's tail and a horn in the center of the forehead. There were also images of a unicorn with the body of a bull or goat. According to other sources, the unicorn has a deer head, elephant feet, and boar tusks protruding from its mouth.

First mentions

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 - about Persia and about India. In the latter, Ctesias mentions large wild asses 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. It is difficult to say which animal Ctesias described. He had never been to India or seen the so-called donkey. In addition, wild asses are hornless, and the author should have known this, since they were also found in Persia.

Julius Caesar describes an unusual-looking one-horned animal that supposedly lived in the Hercynian 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. 6.26).

Roman writer Claudius Aelianus, born around 170 AD. e., in the book “Motley Stories” 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 “the size of a full-grown horse, 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.

Now let's turn to China. The first mention of unicorns in Chinese sources dates back to 2697 BC. e. 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 the masculine (ki) and feminine (lin) principles. Along with the dragon, phoenix bird and turtle, the ki-lin was considered an intelligent creature.

Information about the unicorn is also contained in the “physiologus” - an allegorical bestiary, presumably written between the 2nd and 4th centuries AD. e. Translated into many languages, Physiologus was very popular in different countries and had a great influence on European literature and art of the Middle Ages. The Physiologus describes the unicorn as a small creature, resembling a young goat, with a horn in the middle of its head. He is very strong, and the hunters to catch him were powerless until they found a way to deal with him. They brought the virgin to the place where unicorns usually appeared. The unicorn immediately became meek and laid his head on the girl’s lap, then he was caught and taken to the king’s palace.

In the Middle Ages, most people undoubtedly believed in the real existence of the unicorn, which was proven in the Bible, “Physiologus” and other books. The belief was strengthened after the Europeans, upon returning from a trip to the East, said that they had seen a unicorn with their own eyes. One of these travelers was Marco Polo, who observed “unicorns” in Sumatra. These, according to him, were huge and ugly animals that loved to wallow in the mud and would hardly allow an innocent girl to approach them, and no girl would agree to get close to such creatures. Obviously, Marco Polo actually described rhinoceroses.

Belief in the unicorn remained unshakable during the Renaissance. Many eyewitnesses appeared, descriptions of unicorns were included in treatises on zoology. But some writers even then expressed doubt about the magical power of his horn.

The earliest images of a unicorn, dating back to the 3rd century. BC e., found on the seals of the ancient Indian cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa. Mentioned in Atharva Veda and Mahabharata. During the flood, Manu tied his ship to the horn of a unicorn. The origin of the unicorn in Greek and Roman traditions was associated with India. In Zoroastrianism, the unicorn personified the pure power with which Ankhri Mainya was defeated. The Chinese unicorn symbolized abundance and longevity. The Chinese philosopher Han Yu (768-824) gave the animal the following characteristics: “Everyone knows that the unicorn is a creature of another world and portends happiness - odes, works of historians, biographies of famous people speak about this...

In the ancient world, he was considered to have come from India, where he was depicted as red-headed, with a white or black horn. Then he appeared in Babylon, China, Tibet, Greece. In the West, the apogee of his fame occurred in the Middle Ages. The unicorn represents power, the force that opposes the forces of darkness, maintaining balance in the Universe. It is a symbol of the sun's ray, purity, turning towards unity, towards the center. The spiral is a reminder of what remains unchanged through time. In addition, the unicorn is a symbol of transmutation, freedom and knowledge, it shows the way to those who seek the truth.

Many traditions speak of the unicorn as a mythical animal that personifies the highest power of Being. He is clothed in mystery and embodies the original unity, the beginning and final goal of human existence, the unity of opposites and the ability to overcome internal contradictions, universal love and compassion.

In Babylon he was represented as winged. The cylinder amulet, dating from around 1800 BC, features two unicorns on its opposite surfaces, symbolizing the two sides of the Tree of Life. In the Sumerian-Semitic tradition, the unicorn is a lunar symbol, an attribute of virgin goddesses.

Unicorn - the messenger of happiness

In Ancient China, the unicorn (qilin) is interpreted as a combination of two concepts: “qi” represents the masculine aspect, yang, the driving force, the energy of creation; “Lin” is the feminine principle, yin. Thus, the qilin represents the creative impulse and its endless expansion, as well as the unity of the opposites of male and female. The unicorn is shown to people only in exceptional cases. He is considered a messenger of happiness, his appearance symbolizes the rise to power of a good ruler or the birth of a true sage. The appearance of the qilin marked the birth and death of Confucius.

Qilin is associated with some historical moments of Chinese tradition. So, one day, 5 thousand years ago, Emperor Fu-si was sitting on the shore near the mouth of the Yellow River. Suddenly a qilin appeared, and the dirty waters of the river brightened and became crystal clear green. Qilin stopped in front of the emperor, struck the rock with his hoof three times and spoke to him in a voice that rang like a temple bell. When the qilin turned to leave, the emperor saw that his back was covered with magical marks, which he tried to copy. This is how the first written language of China appeared.

In Tibet, the unicorn is called "se-ru", it is mainly a gazelle or fallow deer that lives on mountain peaks. The unicorn is a bridge between Heaven and Earth, between the world of light principles and the world of dark and dense matter, manifested and unmanifested. The unicorn is a symbol of awakened consciousness, integrity and inner peace, it enlightens, shines in the darkness and, like the morning star, shows the way, inspiring people in the search for wisdom. The pediments of Himalayan monasteries invariably depict two unicorns turning the wheel of Dharma.

In India, the unicorn represents the power of spiritual wealth. He is both a destroyer and a creator. The symbol of the unicorn is found in the Atharva Veda and in the Mahabharata in the myth of the flood, during which Manu tied a ship to the horn of a giant unicorn fish.

Winged Unicorn, considered a mixture with Pegasus

In Persia, the unicorn represents the fertilizing principle, strength and the ability to purify. In a Persian manuscript of the 15th century. it is said: “As for its horn, it appears golden, with its help all corruption and vileness will be destroyed and dispelled.”

In the Hebrew tradition, legend says that when Yahweh asked Adam to name all the animals, the unicorn was the first to receive it, and thus he was elevated to the highest rank. When Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, God gave the unicorn a choice: stay in Eden or go with people. The unicorn chose the latter, and was forever blessed with compassion for people.

In the Greco-Roman tradition, the unicorn is an attribute of all virgin, lunar goddesses, for example, Artemis (Diana).

In Christianity, the unicorn's horn is a symbol of divine unity, spiritual power and nobility, and therefore the unicorn becomes the image of Christ. The small stature of the unicorn is associated with the humiliation of Christ at his birth; its white color symbolizes purity, that which must be acquired by following the ways of the sons of God.

In knightly symbolism, the unicorn is associated with purity of feelings. The Unicorn, accompanied by the Virgo, is the personification of chastity and purity. It often represents the devoted love of a knight for a lady. The unicorn also represents the abandonment of physical love for a purer and stronger love. This is something like a charm of purity, a miraculous purification of bodily life and sexual energy, giving the knight strength and courage.

The alchemical unicorn represents the stage of purification, the White Work. It signifies transmutation and spiritual evolution. His horn symbolizes the possibility of the Spirit penetrating Matter.

Along with the decline of faith, the deep meaning of the unicorn symbol gradually disappears. But the mythical animal, immortalized in iconography and sacred texts, is present everywhere and is ready to reveal its message to those who are able to hear it.

Few people nowadays will refuse to buy a figurine of a unicorn or its baby for good luck.

Buy clothes and shoes with the image of the miracle beast

Trust him to protect the ship

Unicorn sculpture in Norway

In European mythology, the main enemy of the Unicorn is the Lion. Their fights are depicted in many ancient and modern paintings. Both of these animals are depicted on the coat of arms of Britain and perfectly preserve the peace of this country.

Unicorn, nowadays also a hero of cartoons and films

And someone has the happiness of communicating with a living prototype)

The mythical animal unicorn is present in many traditions. Various images of it are known: a goat in the East, and later in the West a deer or horse. He was always depicted with one horn in his forehead, most often spiral. “The unicorn is not a single, clearly defined entity, but a fairy-tale creature with many variations: for example, there are one-horned horses, donkeys, fish, dragons, scarabs, etc. Strictly speaking, we are dealing with the theme of a single horn...” (C. G. Jung, “Psychology and Alchemy”)

IN Babylon he was represented as winged. The cylinder amulet, dating from around 1800 BC, features two unicorns on its opposite surfaces, symbolizing the two sides of the Tree of Life. In the Sumerian-Semitic tradition, the unicorn is a lunar symbol, an attribute of virgin goddesses.

IN Ancient China the unicorn (qilin) is interpreted as a combination of two concepts: “qi” represents the male aspect, yang, the driving force, the energy of creation; “Lin” is the feminine principle, yin. Thus, the qilin represents the creative impulse and its endless expansion, as well as the unity of the opposites of male and female. The unicorn is shown to people only in exceptional cases. He is considered a messenger of happiness, his appearance symbolizes the rise to power of a good ruler or the birth of a true sage. The appearance of the qilin marked the birth and death of Confucius.

IN Tibet The unicorn is called "se-ru", it is mainly a gazelle or fallow deer that lives on mountain peaks. The unicorn is a bridge between Heaven and Earth, between the world of light principles and the world of dark and dense matter, manifested and unmanifested. The unicorn is a symbol of awakened consciousness, integrity and inner peace, it enlightens, shines in the darkness and, like the morning star, shows the way, inspiring people in the search for wisdom. The pediments of Himalayan monasteries invariably depict two unicorns turning the wheel of Dharma.

IN India The unicorn represents the power of spiritual wealth. He is both a destroyer and a creator. The symbol of the unicorn is found in the Atharva Veda and in the Mahabharata in the myth of the flood, during which Manu tied a ship to the horn of a giant unicorn fish.

IN Persia The unicorn represents the fertilizing principle, strength and the ability to purify. In a Persian manuscript of the 15th century. it is said: “As for its horn, it appears golden, with its help all corruption and vileness will be destroyed and dispelled.”

IN Hebrew tradition legend says that when Yahweh asked Adam to name all the animals, the unicorn was the first to receive it, and thus he was elevated to the highest rank. When Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise, God gave the unicorn a choice: stay in Eden or go with people. The unicorn chose the latter, and was forever blessed with compassion for people.

IN Greco-Roman traditions, the unicorn is an attribute of all virgin, lunar goddesses, for example, Artemis (Diana).

IN Christianity The unicorn's horn is a symbol of divine unity, spiritual power and nobility, in connection with this the unicorn becomes the image of Christ. The small stature of the unicorn is associated with the humiliation of Christ at his birth; its white color symbolizes purity, that which must be acquired by following the ways of the sons of God.

IN knightly symbolism The unicorn is associated with purity of feelings. The Unicorn, accompanied by the Virgo, is the personification of chastity and purity. It often represents the devoted love of a knight for a lady. The unicorn also represents the abandonment of physical love for a purer and stronger love. This is something like a charm of purity, a miraculous purification of bodily life and sexual energy, giving the knight strength and courage.

Alchemical The unicorn represents the stage of purification, the White Work. It signifies transmutation and spiritual evolution. His horn symbolizes the possibility of the Spirit penetrating Matter.

The saint stood up, dropping pieces
Prayers broken by contemplation:
One who had escaped from legend walked towards him
A whitish animal with eyes like a doe's
Stolen, and full of melancholy.

Rainer Maria Rilke

Animals, real, fictional or completely fantastic, have always been important characters in legends and myths. Thus, the cultural memory of mankind remembered the times of its primitive youth, in which the worship of totem animals and identification with them was an important part of religious consciousness. Mythical horses are one of the most striking and widespread characters, representing not only a visual embodiment of beauty and nobility, but also symbolizing various instincts and virtues.

Unicorn: a symbol of chastity in theory, a genetic incident in reality

The most famous equid in world mythology is the unicorn, a mythical horse with a horn growing from the middle of its forehead. Unicorns are rarely found in reality - these are individual representatives of various genera of equids, in which, as a result of a mutation, instead of two horns, only one grew. For example, a few years ago in Italy, a unicorn was discovered - a male roe deer, whose horn grew exactly from the middle of its forehead. Medical experiments on turning animals into unicorns have been known since the first half of the last century. Since the horns of equids do not grow directly from the skull, but from a special growth on the skull, when these growths are transplanted to the center of the forehead, it is possible to obtain an animal with one horn.

In ancient times, the unicorn was also considered a real animal. Reports of unicorns by ancient Greek and Roman authors can have several rational explanations. Firstly, news from distant countries of the East or Africa could report on individuals of certain horned animals that either lost their second horn due to the vicissitudes of life, or were examples of a rare mutation. Secondly, in ancient times the unicorn was not always represented as a horse with a horn. The descriptions contain such epithets as “massive legs”, “large size”, “fierce temperament”, “thick skin” and the like. This suggests that in many cases the reference may have been to a rhinoceros - a real animal with one horn, corresponding to the above descriptions.

Another thing is the symbolic description of the unicorn, which became especially widespread in the Middle Ages. Having received fragmentary legends of the ancient world about the unicorn, in which this beast was associated with the service of Artemis, the virgin goddess of the hunt and the animal world, medieval mystics and romantics transformed them into new myths. In these myths, the unicorn was already represented as a horse with one horn, a very rare animal of paradise origin (present in Eden with Adam and Eve), personifying chastity.

In this regard, the unicorn in fine art became an integral attribute of the Virgin Mary, and legends said that only a virgin could tame a unicorn.

The unicorn's horn was considered to have healing powers, so doctors and alchemists sought to obtain it. For the first, it was important as a remedy for all poisons; for the second, it was supposed to help in the search for the philosopher's stone. It is curious that for hundreds of years in Europe there was an active trade in unicorn horn, which was passed off as the long tusk of the marine mammal narwhal.

Horse below, man above

Another popular mythical horse character is the centaur. True, in this case we must not forget that in ancient mythology, centaurs are half people, half horses - creatures with a horse's croup and four legs and a human torso and head. According to scientists, the appearance of ideas about centaurs among southern European peoples is associated with vague memories of first contacts with northern nomadic tribes. The nomads became so closely related to horses that in the perception of other peoples they seemed to be united and inseparable creatures with them. It is not surprising that in ancient Greek mythology, centaurs were the embodiments of the wild forces of nature, dark passions and instincts that cannot be controlled by reason.

Therefore, in most legendary stories, centaurs play a negative role, entering into the fight with the heroes. Rare examples of centaurs as positive characters are associated with their function as mentors for future great heroes. For example, the teacher of such powerful and revered demigods-half-humans as the miner of the golden fleece Jason and the invincible Achilles, there was the centaur Chiron. But the mighty Hercules, for example, was constantly at odds with the centaurs and killed many of them. However, a centaur was also involved in his painful death, whose poisoned blood killed Hercules. Also, in some myths, centaurids are mentioned, that is, centaurs with a female human “half,” but nowhere do they play an independent role

Hindus, Vikings, Bashkirs - everyone loved horses

Another horse also appeared in ancient mythology - the winged Pegasus, the favorite of the muses and the messenger of Zeus, who delivered lightning arrows to the supreme god on Olympus, forged in the craters of volcanoes by the blacksmith god Hephaestus. In medieval and modern heraldry, Pegasus, thanks to its connection with the muses, the inspirers of the arts and creativity, and the winged way of life, became a symbol of inspiration, craving for beauty, love of knowledge, sublime dreams and aspirations. There is a flying horse in the legends of the nomadic peoples of Eurasia. Thus, in Bashkir and Tatar epic tales, the winged horse Tulpar is a magical assistant and friend of batyrs (heroes) in the exploits and adventures of the latter. Not only can Tulpar fly, he also has the ability to speak, the gift of prophecy and summoning strong winds.

Mythical flying horses belong to a very deep layer of human consciousness. Thus, such characters appear in legends long before the maturation of ancient civilization. In many stories of Hindu mythology, the reader can meet Uchchaikhshravas, a white flying horse with seven heads, the servant of Indra, one of the main gods of the pantheon of Hinduism and Vedism. Among other things, this seven-headed flying horse had the gift of resurrecting the dead. In European religious culture, the most famous is Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse of the supreme Scandinavian god Odin. Thanks to the fleet-footed and beautiful Sleipnir, Odin could almost instantly be transported from one world to another, thanks to which experts see in this horse the function of an intermediary between worlds.

Alexander Babitsky

Which are considered useful 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 one-horned pagan 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 some 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 in 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.

In nature there are only two animals that possess one 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.

How many unimaginable, beautiful horses in legends were given to us by Greece, Scandinavia, China and many other countries and peoples. Whatever they came up with, fantasized about, you can’t count all the mythical horses! The most famous magical horses are the unicorn and pegasus. Whatever people added to these horses, sometimes they made monsters out of them, which is simply terrible, to disfigure this holy and truly faithful, kind, wise, noble creature! But it never occurred to anyone before to unite two loving hearts and see what would come out of the love of a pegasus and a unicorn. Unfortunately, the pegasus and the unicorn found their love only in our time!

As I already said, the foal of a pegasus and a unicorn was born only in our time, starting somewhere in the 20th century.
Since there were many creators of the winged unicorn, it has many names and legends. For example, an alicorn is also called a winged unicorn or lionfish. But now the more scientific and common names for these indescribable horses are alicorn and lionfish.

Now let's talk about legends.
There are many legends about lionfish, but there are two most famous, I think everyone knows them.
The first legend says that one day in the spring, when a unicorn stallion entered into battle for a unicorn mare, instead of the second unicorn stallion, a pegasus stallion, who had long loved this mare, came out. His love was so strong that he easily defeated the unicorn stallion. If a pegasus, unicorn, or alicorn creates a family, then it’s forever! Over time, they had three foals - a unicorn, a pegasus and an alicorn. The fact is that in such a family a unicorn and a pegasus are usually born, and very rarely an alicorn, so alicorns are very rare creatures. But a pegasus whose parents are a unicorn and a pegasus does not have much magic, and a unicorn from such a family can jump very high and hang in the air for a short period of time. As for the alicorn, it is almost five times more powerful than the unicorn and pegasus, this combination gives it even more strength and magical abilities.

The second legend says that in very ancient times, the land of all unicorns was ruled by one very powerful mare, but she was terribly afraid that she would also be attacked by a very powerful stallion - the king of all pegasuses. And then the queen of unicorns made a deal with him that she would give him magical powers and a horn, and in return he would give her wings and the ability to fly.
Soon they fell in love with each other, united their kingdoms and had foals - alicorns, who found their soul mates among pegasi and unicorns, and so the great line of winged unicorns continued!

Previously in the 20th century AD. It was almost impossible to find an alicorn anywhere, but now there are a lot of them, from books to cartoons. Alikor, just like his parents, personifies wisdom, loyalty, kindness, nobility and rebellion! Among strangers, only those whose heart is open to him will love!
If you want to admire alicorns, then pay attention to the stunning, magical paintings of Josephine Wall, in which there is so much hidden magic!

Painting by Josephine Wall - "Sleeping girl riding an alicorn"

You can also meet many winged unicorns in the colorful and mysterious world of the North Country from the Bella Sara magazine series.

Spring Carnival, card of the Snow Tsar from "Bella Sara"

I don’t know about you, but I believe in mythical good horses, because horses are really capable of flying without wings, and without any magic, bewitching and making many people fall in love with them! Horses - you are my heroes!