I'm a Unicorn
As I have written of late, I have begun a
quest of lifelong learning, as a student of life. There is one fact that I have
come to learn-that I am a unicorn.
Of course I do not mean this in the
literal sense; I know I am not a mythological beast that looks like a horse
that has a single horn jutting out of the middle of its forehead.
The myth of the unicorn is said to have
begun in China, in the time of Confucius. Known as the “Qilin”, the unicorn was
said to have the body of a dragon, as well as parts of a horse and a deer.
Unicorns are one mythological creature
not found in Greek mythology; the Greeks actually believed the unicorn once
existed, originating in India. In contrast to other mythical beasts, there is
no unicorn legend in Greek mythology. The website Gods and Monsters explains this
myth:
“….unlike
almost every single other mythical creature, the unicorn does not appear
anywhere in any culture's actual mythology.
That is to say, plenty of Greek scholars believed that unicorns existed,
but the unicorn itself does not come from Greek mythology. There are no tales of gods riding unicorns or
legends of unicorns fighting monsters. To put it simply, as far as ancient
myths are concerned, there is no such thing as 'unicorn mythology'.”
The website continued to discuss the myth
of the unicorn. It also points out that the unicorn is the only creature in
legend and lore that is not based upon human fears.
“Unicorns
are not monsters. Anytime they are
spoken of in ancient texts they are revered and respected. They are strong, solitary animals who seek to
do good for all around them. Never does
a unicorn pose a threat to humans, or any other creature that does not seek
first to harm them.”
In mediaeval times, the unicorn was seen
as a mythic creature, with the body of a goat. As unicorns are normally
depicted in profile, this could be an accurate depiction; if one saw a goat in
profile, they would only see one horn.
There are many stories about the unicorn,
dating back to the time of Christ. It is in the Middle Ages that the unicorn
began to take on the mythological, pastoral qualities that we know today. It
was said that a maiden, seated in a meadow, was approached by a unicorn. The
unicorn, enchanted by the maiden, lay before her, resting his head in her lap.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times
This story and later transformed and evolved
into a depiction of Christ. The maiden in the story became the Virgin Mary; the
unicorn became the baby Jesus. Thus the unicorn came to represent Christ and
his purity as a divine being on Earth.
The website “Medieval Bestiary” discusses
this image of Christ:
“The
unicorn signifies Christ, who was made incarnate in Mary's womb, was captured
by the Jews, and was put to death. The unicorn's fierce wildness shows the
inability of hell to hold Christ. The single horn represents the unity of God
and Christ.”
There are many examples of the unicorn
seen in heraldry in Europe from the 1500s on. In fact, the Royal Coat of Arms
depicts both a lion and a unicorn. The lion represents England, and the unicorn
represents Scotland. It is interesting to make this distinction, as the
unicorn, a wild beast, similar to a wild stallion, is held on the Royal Coat of
Arms in chains.
While watching the royal wedding of Prince
Harry and Meghan Markle, held at St. George’s Castle in Windsor, England, I
noticed that, at the end of the grand staircase were two statues on either side
of the grand staircase. On the left, there sits a statue of a lion. On the
right, there sits a statue of a unicorn, in chains.
Unicorn at St. George's Chapel,
Windsor
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Andrew Abbott -
geograph.org.uk/p/1994124
In researching the unicorn, there are
several meanings. The website “Universe of Symbolism” discusses its symbolism:
“The meaning of the unicorn is all about Opening up to
Infinite Possibilities and that infinite possibilities surround you and are
available to you at all times. Many times one cannot see that possibilities
abound, or even exist. Unicorn gives us the ‘eyes to see’ those possibilities,
and ‘the wisdom’ to take advantage of them. Spiritually Unicorn symbolizes success. If you summon the
power of the Unicorn, the Unicorn will give you the blessings to be a success
in whatever you choose to pursue.”
In recent years, unicorns have become a
fashion and lifestyle staple. Pink ponies, rainbow and glitter now include
unicorns and their flowing mane of hair, often depicted in pastel or rainbow
colors and sparkling with glitter or rhinestones. Everything from shirts,
socks, pajamas, purses, scarves, umbrellas, sunglasses, hooded sweatshirt, you
name it, you can find a unicorn on it.
Make no mistake, unicorns are big
business. Simply put the word “unicorn” on any products, and sales rise
exponentially. For example, the company Frank Body had meteoric success with
one of its body scrubs. The website Fast Company goes into greater detail:
“….the
Melbourne-based skincare company Frank Body announced on Instagram that it
would be launching a new body scrub that leaves your skin with a sparkly glow.
The brand isn’t a fan of kitschy product names, so it marketed the powder
(which came in an iridescent pouch) simply as a “Shimmer Scrub.” But the Aussie
company didn’t realize that its latest offering had a built-in pop culture
hook. Right now, the best way to sell American millennial women anything
vaguely shiny, glittery, or colorful is to ‘unicornify’ it…Teen Vogue, Marie
Claire, and Fashionista immediately dubbed Frank Body’s newest offering a ‘unicorn
scrub’–and consumers could not click ‘buy’ fast enough. A waitlist exploded to
50,000 on the company’s website, and when the product hit stores, it sold out.”
A few weeks ago I picked up this cup,
designed from the great folks at Tervis:
"All you need is a Unicorn" by Tervis-photo by Esperanza Habla
I even found this bicycle helmet while in
a store recently:
"Unicorn Helmet" by Esperanza Habla
One of the hottest trends in baking right
now is the unicorn, in cakes, cookies, dessert drinks, even breakfast cereal.
Anything rainbow, multi-colored, is now dubbed as unicorn in the food world.
If you can make it or bake it, you
can make it into a unicorn.
"Google search for 'unicorn food' by Esperanza Habla"
The unicorn has become a symbol in the
LGBT+ community for years, possibly even decades. In years gone by, it was rare
to meet a gay person, or a trans person, or a bi-sexual person, or any one of
the thousands of gender, sexual and romantic identities we now hear of in the
world of news and popular culture.
Case in point, singer Janelle Monae
recently came out as pansexual. With the news reaching the internet, the term
pansexual was searched online went up 11,000 percent. The internet is a
wonderful tool for educating oneself, on any topic you could possibly think of,
including gender, romantic, and sexual spectrums and identities.
Labels and gender identities we know and
are coming to know and understand, make the LGBT+ community exponentially
larger. The current statistic is that 10% of the world is LGBT. 1% of the world
is found in the plus sign + of the LGBT+ community. I feel that, as people around
the world are coming to learn about and know how they identify, that these
numbers will undoubtedly grow. There are more unicorns among us than we know.
Now that I know and understand how I
identify, as demisexual, I realize that I feel like a unicorn. I have never met
another demisexual person, or an asexual person. To have ever met someone like
you, it can be a lonely, isolating feeling. However, that’s one of the
wonderful things about the World Wide Web- the entire world can interact with
one another. We can learn about people like us, discover and discern how we
identify, and discover that we are not alone.
Writer Alice Fisher wrote about the
symbolism of the unicorn in the LGBT+ community:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/15/return-of-the-unicorn-the-magical-beast-of-our-times
The symbol of the unicorn is not only for
the LGBT+ community. A unicorn can be defined as anyone who has ever felt different
than others, like the odd duck, the odd girl out, the misfit in the group, the
wallflower, not like the other boys on the team, not like the other girls in
the class, someone who longs to blend in with the crowd yet perpetually stands
out, anyone that has felt alone, ostracized, marginalized, isolated, an
anomaly, invisible, one of a kind.
It is in this context that writer
Stephanie March wrote an article entitled: “Stop Asking Why I Don’t Have Kids.”
In the article, Stephanie felt like the odd girl out, different from her circle
of friends, as they were all getting married and having children, and she was
not. In her article Stephanie wrote:
“I
am a single 30 (something) year old female with no kids. In the dating world
this makes me some kind of anomaly—a unicorn prancing about in a sea of moms. I
get poked and prodded with rude and invasive questions like I’m some kind of
science experiment…”
I just finished reading a wonder book by
Mia Michaels entitled, “A Unicorn in a
World of Donkeys: a Guide to Life for all the Exceptional, Excellent Misfits
Out There.” Mia is a choreographer and has choreographed dance numbers for
the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance”, the Broadway show “Finding
Neverland”, the Cirque du Soleil show “A New Day” with singer Céline Dion, and
for the Radio City Rockettes.
Mia has a different definition for a
unicorn:
“…an
exceptional person who revels in his or her peculiarity, despite the tremendous
pressure—from parents, teachers, friends, boyfriends, girlfriend, society in
general—to be just like everyone else.’”
As I read Mia’s book, if a sentence or
passage speaks to me, I take a picture of that page with my phone. Once I have
read the book, I look back on the pictures I took and ponder the message
expressed and lessons imparted. So far, I have taken a picture on almost every
page of the book.
I wish I could share the many pearls of
wisdom that I have found within Mia Michaels’s book. However, rules of publishing dictate otherwise. If you are creative in any way, this book
will speak to you. If you stand out without meaning to, this book will speak to
you. If you feel yourself a unicorn, read this book. If you aren’t sure of your
unicorn status, read this book. Find it wherever you can, Amazon, your local
library, anywhere it is sold.
For anyone that has felt different than
others, unworthy, less than, other, marginalized, bullied, ostracized, insecure
about your body or body part, been made an example of, experienced bullying,
felt like the odd girl out, like there is no one on Earth like you are, that
you’re the only person like you, like you’re one of a kind, I have news for
you:
You are a unicorn.
You are different than others, and you
are supposed to be. Cherish it, own it. Revel in the knowledge that you are set
apart and unique. You were created as the Lord made you.
You are not alone. There are more
unicorns to be found about than you realize. How could you be expected to live
an ordinary life when you were meant to shine?
Now that it is officially Pride month, I
encourage you to attend an event in your area. If you identify as a unicorn,
LGBT+ community or no, I promise you, you will find many unicorns like yourself
at Pride events. While there, take stock. Look upon the vast array of unicorns. You will ind yourself in good company.
My unicorn friend, I stand with you. Take
great pride in your great horn. Polish it, care for it, strengthen it. Wear it
with Pride.
You were born with the horn. Wear your uniqueness as a badge of
honor.
Yeah that’s right, I’m a unicorn. And I’m
beautiful. And I’m not alone.
“Well, now that we have seen each other,”
said the unicorn,
“if you’ll believe in me, I’ll believe in
you.”
-Lewis Carroll-Through the Looking Glass
Image by Esperanza Habla-made with Canva
Unicorn resources:
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