Unicorns, Reality Of

How To Find Your Basic Fantastic Beast

by Angela F. M. Pancella (pancella@sluvca.slu.edu)
written 23 Feb 1995

This article is classified "Partly real, partly fictional"


Hitchhikers may discover that many cultures have stories concerning a
curious one-horned beast.  This beast, called unicorn, monoceros, ki-rin,
ki-lin, karkadann, etc., was often pictured with a dualistic nature -- the
horn gave it great strength and yet the beast was gentle; it was very
beautiful but impossible to tame.

For European society on Earth, starting with the Age of Enlightment, the
existence of unicorns was doubted.  Before that, unicorns were an accepted
fact based on their mention (later discovered to be a mistranslation) in
the religious text known as the Bible.  However, actual unicorn sightings
were rare.

There are several theories why unicorns are not seen.  One is that they
never actually existed as the fantastic creatures griffins, sphinxes, and
phoenixes.  Another theory is that the unicorns were never more than
essences without corporeal presences.

It is altogether possible, even probable, that unicorns can exist only
in a non-rational environment.  In which case, they can only exist where
their existence is not appreciated.  This means, if you want to see a
unicorn, you can't want to.

See also:
  • Magic

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