Unicorn Legends

Unicorns have mystified mankind for centuries. Unicorns, dragons, elves, fairies, and other mythological creatures have been the subject of many legends throughout time. This page includes a number of unicorn legends from the ages.

The Chinese Unicorn

Unicorns have been with us, in one form or another, since the dawn of history. It's believed they were first described by the Chinese as a miraculous creature called the Ch'i lin (or K'i lin), a "great unicorn," that radiated exquisite colors, had a voice like a thousand wind chimes, avoided fighting at all costs, lived for a thousand years, and had a horn twelve feet long. It was said that Ch'i lin walked so softly its hooves made no sound. Some believed this was because it was so soft-hearted it did not want to crush the blades of grass beneath its feet.

Ch'i lin was very special to the Chinese. It was a creature of great power and wisdom, and would show itself at special times. Its appearance was always considered a sign of good fortune. When a ruler was just and kind and the times peaceful and prosperous, the unicorn would appear in a glade. It would also appear when a great leader was about to die or be born.

The earliest recorded appearance of the Ch'i lin was to a legendary Chinese sovereign called Fu Hsi c. 2900 BC. As the story is told, Fu Hsi was sitting on the bank of the Yellow River one day near the end of his life. He was thinking about mortality and trying to think of a way he could record his thoughts for following generations (writing had not yet been invented). Suddenly a Ch'i lin rose out of the river and came toward him. On its back it carried certain magical sigils from which Fu Hsi was able to devise the first written Chinese language. Over time the script has evolved so naturally that today's readers of modern Chinese are still able to understand something written 2,000 years ago.

The signs which had inspired Fu Hsi are called the Pa Kua, or eight trigrams. They are a symbolic combination of broken and unbroken lines and form the basis not only for Chinese writing, but also for the philosophic and divinatory systems known as the I Ching, or Book of Changes. Fu Hsi is one of four men given credit for authoring this work, along with King Wen, the Duke of Chou and Confucius. Fu Hsi was followed as sovereign by Shen-nung and then by Huang Ti, who was also known as the Yellow Emperor or the August Sovereign. He became one of the most revered of all Chinese rulers. There is a record in the Bamboo Books of the appearance of a Ch'i lin at his palace in 2697 BC, shortly before his death. The Ch'i lin walked silently, majestically into the palace, roamed its halls and vanished. The unicorn carried in the middle of its forehead a long, straight, tapered and helically grooved ivory horn. During the reigns of the following four Emperors, in what is considered China's Golden Age of peace, justice and good government, the Ch'i lin often appeared as a mark of approval. The most famous example of the appearance of a Ch'i lin foretelling the birth of a great leader happened over 2,500 years ago when it came to a young woman named Yen Chen-tsai. She and her husband had no son and though she prayed constantly, her prayers went unanswered. After a long time, she decided to make a pilgrimage to a holy shrine in the mountains. As she was traveling to the shrine, a Ch'i lin appeared, knelt before her and dropped into her hand a tiny jade tablet from its mouth. On one side was a message which said: "The son of the essence of water shall succeed to the withering Chou and he will become a throneless king." Months later Yen Chen-tsai ("the essence of water") bore a son called Kung Fu Tse, better known as the great Chinese sage, Confucius. Confucius never wore a crown or commended men. But, through his teachings, Confucius probably did as much to shape China as the power of many kings and warlords combined. Seventy years later, while writing his Spring and Autumn Annals, it is said that Confucius was told by one of his disciples that a strange beast had been killed nearby by a party of noblemen. They had been out hunting and surprised the beast by setting fire to the underbrush. Some witnesses said the creature ran into a chariot and was killed by accident, others said the hunters were too quick with their spears. Whatever the truth of the incident, the animal had been killed and its body abandoned at a crossroads. Confucius left with his disciple to see this animal for himself. He immediately recognized the creature and cried: "It is a Ch'i lin. The Ch'i lin, benevolent beast, appears and dies. My Tao is exhausted." Confucius ended his Annals prematurely with an account of the incident and is then said to have laid down his pen and never written another word. However, that may not be exactly the case as the following poem is attributed to Confucius and it appears it was written after seeing the Ch'i lin:

In the age of Tang and Yu the Unicorn
and the Phoenix walked abroad.
Now when it is not their time they come
And what do they seek?
The Unicorn, the Unicorn, my heart is sad.

By the time of the Middle Ages, most people in China were familiar with the unicorn. When sailors aboard the Chinese Emperor's jewel ship arrived in East Africa in 1415, they were told stories about the horned creature they knew as the Ch'i lin. They were very surprised since Africa and China are totally different and they did not expect this animal to be known there.

The Africans described the animal as having the body of a deer, a long neck and a single horn. It was gentle, graceful, rarely spoke or made noises and was said to be 18 feet tall. According to the reports, it would hide among the mimosa. The Chinese crew was able to capture one of these creatures and returned with it to China. There was much excitement in the Emperor's Court when it was reported they were bringing home a Ch'i lin. As it turned out, the Somali word for the animal was girin, which had confused the expedition's leader. In fact, the African "unicorn" turned out to be the giraffe!

The Four Sacred Beasts: The Chinese Unicorn

There is an ancient Chinese myth which explains the creation of the universe. In the beginning, the universe was merely an egg. Heaven and earth were not separate. The stars and the planets were one. But when the egg of the universe cracked, Chaos spilled out. Heaven and earth separated and the stars and planets split.

Into this chaos came P'an Ku, the first god/human. It took him 18,000 years to create the present universe and earth. He was assisted in this work of creation by the four most fortunate animals--the dragon, the phoenix, the tortoise and the unicorn. When P'an Ku's work was completed, he died. The dragon swan into the seas. The tortoise crawled into the swampy wetlands. The phoenix rose into the sky and flew to the open lands. The unicorn galloped into the green forests. These four sacred animals became the guardians of the hidden realms upon the earth and those places beyond, where their strength is undiminished by contact with humans.

The Eastern Unicorn

The unicorn of Eastern tradition is very different in appearance from the Western unicorn, but they share many characteristics. For example, the Eastern unicorn was depicted as a solitary animal, believed to have sprung from the center of the earth, the first and most perfect of the 360 land creatures. The Eastern unicorn always reached its destination, never falling into pits or traps, so it was honored as a great spiritual guide through life. The unicorn's gentleness prevented it from treading upon an insect or eating fruit. It was said to be so sensitive it could feel the weight of a shadow cast by the light of the moon. All animals became tame around the unicorn. Rain and fire did its bidding, and when it plucked a leaf, two grew in its place. The unicorn's voice was sweet and delicate, with the sound of a thousand wind chimes. In the East they believed that once a unicorn was tamed, no other animal would ever know terror again. And, as long as humans showed greed, anger, and war, and hunger was around, the unicorn would remain elusive, hidden and wild. During evil times it would appear only when a great change was about to occur. In many Eastern cultures, the unicorn is occasionally linked with the tiger and the lioness. Although these relationships are not always considered compatible in Western lore, it is very different in the East. The tiger is a fierce creature in Eastern tradition, its ferocity and courage often unmatched. The tiger is considered a yang (male) creature, as opposed to the yin (female) unicorn and will fight earthly demons which encourage humans to kill the unicorn. Lions and lionesses are very similar, fighting for wisdom and truth and scaring away demons with teeth and claws.

Other Eastern Unicorns

Japan's version of the unicorn, the Kirin or Sin-you was depicted with sinews more like those of a lion. Although the Kirin was normally a shy creature, taking large detours to avoid confrontations, the Sin-you unicorn was not so timid. It was known for its ability to know right from wrong and was often called upon to determine the guilt or innocence of individuals. If an individual was determined to be guilty, the Sin-you would fix its eyes upon him and pierce the guilty person with its horn.

In Taoism and other mystical Eastern cultures, there arose a variety of teachings in art and dance to honor all of nature, including the unicorn and other sacred beasts. In Vietnam, a yearly unicorn dance is held on the full moon of the eighth month, the beginning of the monsoon season. People put on masks and costumes to conceal their identity. When their spirits are high, they tie an effigy of a unicorn to a platform. Archers then shoot at it while singing the effigy song (below). After the song is finished, the rains would begin.

Effigy Song

The unicorn's hoofs!
The duke's sons throng.
Alas for the unicorn!

The unicorn's brow!
The duke's kinsmen throng.
Alas for the unicorn!

The unicorn's horn!
The duke's clansmen throng.
Alas for the unicorn!

The Middle Eastern Unicorn

In Persia and Arabia, the unicorn was called Karkadann, a beast so ferocious it could attack and kill an elephant. It was a violent, warlike unicorn, born in blood and vehement in battle. It had the body of a rhino and a tail like a lion. Each leg had three hooves, one in front and two in back. From its forehead rose a single black horn, curved like a crescent. Unlike the western unicorn, it was dreaded by all living creatures and left alone. The Karkadann could only be tamed by a ring dove. It is said this beast responded so strongly to the dove's gentle call that it would lie beneath a dove's tree for hours and wait for the dove to land on its horn. In other descriptions in Middle Eastern unicorn lore, the Karkadann was a fierce animal with magical abilities. It resembled a stag, horse or antelope, and the elephant was its deadly enemy. It could be mild and tender hearted though, drinking the morning dew from green plants. And when it put its head in water, the water would become pure and fruitful, opposites would unite, and all female creatures in the water would become pregnant. Any evil within the water would die and be cast out upon the shore. As in western unicorn lore, the Karkadann was extremely fond of women, who were used as lures to capture the beast. However, in the eastern tradition, the women did not have to be virgins. Capture of this unicorn was much rarer than in western tradition. This was likely the result of the difficulty in finding women willing to cooperate in capturing such a ferocious beast. The elephant was the deadly enemy of the Karkadann, and there are many tales about their great battles. In the most famous, the Karkadann stabs the elephant in the belly with his horn. Unable to dislodge his horn, the elephant collapses upon the Karkadann. A Roc, a giant mythical bird in Persia, flies by at this moment, diving and grabbing both beasts and lifting them up into the sky. The Roc then flies to its nest and feeds both the Karkadann and the elephant to its young. Allegedly only one human every tamed the Karkadann—Alexander the Great.

The Western Unicorn

The Western Unicorn is the typical unicorn most of us are familiar with.

The German Unicorn

German-speaking peoples have long been strong believers in unicorns. During the Middle Ages their churches and palaces were filled with images of the creature, known to them as Einhorn. In German Marian mysticism (the cult of the adoration of the Virgin), the name given to the mother of God was Maria unicornis (Mary of the unicorn). The Harz Mountains region of central Germany has long been considered a haunt of the Einhorn. In fact, there is a cave in this area which to this day is called the Einhornhohle. It acquired its name from a story which took place in the days when much of Germany was covered with dark, unmapped forests, which were ruled by the old gods. In this forest an old wise woman lived in the Steingrotte Cave near Scharzfeld. People came to her from all over the Harz region for healing and advice. This angered the Christian missionaries in the area and they denounced her as a witch. The missionaries used their influence with a Frankish king, whom they had converted, to send soldiers and a monk to arrest her. As the soldiers were making their way up the steep hill to her cave, the old woman came out and looked down upon them with total disdain and lack of fear. At first the soldiers hesitated, but realizing she was only one old woman, they continued climbing up to the cave. Then a pale Unicorn stepped out of the forest, its horn shining against the gloom cast by the trees. It went up to the woman and knelt before her, she got up on its back and rode away.

The Wise Woman Of Scharzfeld

The monk and soldiers ran after her, but soon fell behind because of their heavy armor and weapons. The monk was finally able to catch up with the woman, but as he tried to grab her, she raised her arms and made signs in the air -- and the monk disappeared. By the time the soldiers reached the spot, all they found was a hole in the ground with the monk lying shattered and lifeless at the bottom. The soldiers buried the monk and named the cave Einhornhohle, a name by which it has been known ever since.

The Lion and the Unicorn

In Western unicorn lore, the Lion and the Unicorn have traditionally been considered rivals and natural enemies destined to fight. But in all of the tales of this rivalry, there is no suggestion that they represent good and evil. At best they are complimentary, at worst they are incompatible. At times both have been called the lord of all beasts, but their styles of sovereignty are totally different. The extrovert and the introvert, one fiery and one cool, they represent opposite principles which are fine in and of them so long as they are not in competition.

There is a tale common throughout the ancient Middle East which tells how the Lion and the Unicorn chased each other across the heavens at the dawn of time. For fourteen years the Lion chased after the Unicorn through the stars, but it pulled away and circled round. Then for the next fourteen years it was the Unicorn who chased the Lion, slowly but steadily gaining, closing the distance between them with its horn growing ever more sharp and deadly. In despair the Lion came to earth and plunged into a forest with the Unicorn close behind, its horn lowered for the kill. Suddenly an enormous tree stood in their path. The Unicorn, seeing the danger too late, charged straight on and buried its horn to the hilt in the tree's trunk. While the Unicorn was thus pinned, the Lion crept up from behind and devoured him.

Sun Signs: Unicorn Moon And Lion Sun

The Lion is a well established solar symbol in astrology. The Unicorn is not quite as widely accepted as a symbol for the moon. However, the association has been there and was commonly accepted by the time of England's James I.

When James I ascended to the English throne in 1603, he spelled out this association in his written comments about the heraldic Unicorn. He said that in heraldic terms the Lion and Unicorn not only represented the union of two formerly warring nations, but showed that the new order of things was supported by the balanced forces of nature, sun and moon in harmony.

The Lion-sun flies from the rising
Unicorn-moon and hides behind the
Tree or Grove of the Underworld;
the Moon pursues, and, sinking in
her turn, is sun slain.

�?Robert Brown, the Unicorn: A Mythological Investigation (1881)

Symbolically, the Lion represents the urge to impose one's idea of order upon the world, while the Unicorn exemplifies the drive to bring harmony through insight and understanding. Their effects are often identical, but their different approaches tend to promote strife. However, when the Lion and the Unicorn work in harmony towards the same goal, no other creature can withstand them because they represent a union of opposites.

The Heavenly Chase

Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queen writes:

Like as a Lion whose imperial power
A proud rebellious Unicorn defies,
T'avoid the rash assault and wrathful stout
Of his fierce foe, him to a tree applies,
And when him running in full course he spies,
He slips aside; the whiles that furious beast
His precious horn, sought of his enemies,
Strikes in the stock, nor thence can be released,
But to the mighty victor yields a bounteous feast.

There are variations of this tale in different cultures all around the world. Some versions reverse the outcome and the Unicorn impales the Lion before he can reach the tree. This reversal may be a clue to the real meaning of the story. It's a drama we witness in the heavens every month: the new moon chases the sun across the sky, falling ever further behind but waxing as it does so, until finally it is charging towards the sun from the opposite direction, its crescent horn growing ever more slender and sharp. Then the sun devours it and for a few days and nights the moon disappears from the sky--to await rebirth. On the occasion of a solar eclipse, the tables are turned and it is the sun that briefly dies in the sky