1. Introduction
Nowadays, almost all girls’ toys are mixed with magic. Just walk into a toy shop and you will quickly discover that on many packaging there’s a reference to that word such as ‘magic sand’, magic coloring pens’, ‘magic color book’, magic doll house’. Via the web shop of Intertoys I find as many as 78 products with magic. The response that I often hear around me is that ‘it is just fantasy’. But which world is hidden behind it?
We shall take a closer look at which role the unicorn has played in history and which link this little creature has with magic. Then I will try to describe how we as Christians can deal with it.
2. A mythical animal
At this research I focus on the unicorn just as it is depicted in the play world of children. A unicorn as such it is now being sold, is a white little horse with a twisted horn. This little horse often has a cute face and colorful hair. This little creature is often connected to special magical powers and is often found together with a rainbow.
In mythology, the unicorn is a symbol for a powerful animal that would rarely show itself. People have thought that unicorns would only let themselves be caught by virgins. When the unicorn would encounter a virgin, it would become tamed and would lay its head in the lap of the virgin. It was also thought that the horn of a unicorn had special healing powers. If you would drink from the horn you were protected against poison. The horn would also be a medicine against terrible diseases and a protection against death. The unicorn as we see depicted on children’s toys is not an existing animal. There used to be animals with one horn in the past. Some examples are the wild bull, the narwhal and of course the rhino. In China and Japan the unicorn was called ‘kirin’ and it was a very holy being. In Japan the kirin is considered the most important mythical being. For the Chinese it is equivalent to the dragon and the phoenix. It is believed that it brings luck when you see a kirin, but that the beings only show themselves when a wise and good man rules.
3. Influences from the east
In the New Age Movement, the unicorn also plays a role. New Age is a movement that arose here in the Netherlands in the 60s and 70s. The term ‘New Age’ refers to a new period of spiritual enlightenment and awareness, and it is based on eastern philosophies. In the 60’s and 70’s, many western people started to turn their backs on the Christian faith and search for alternative spiritual paths, whereby they took over philosophies from Hinduism and Buddhism in particular, such as meditation, yoga and reincarnation. Unicorns have a deep spiritual meaning in the New Age thinking, and are often associated with purity, love, peace and power. The horn of the unicorn is considered a symbol of spiritual enlightenment and wisdom. The horn functions as an antenna to make a connection with the paranormal world’.
3 A. Unicorn in the Bible
In the Bible the word unicorn is also found in several places in the somewhat older translations. In the verses, God’s greatness is compared to the enormous power of a unicorn. In Hebrew it is called ‘Re’em’. This can also be translated into a wild ox, an aurochs or a wild bull. A very strong animal with one horn that has been extinct. It is not about the mythical animal that is described in this article.
The unicorn as it is presented nowadays, is not a physically strong animal, but it’s cute and peacefully looking. The Bible sketches on the contrary, an awesome strong animal.
The unicorn as it is presented nowadays, is not a physically strong animal, but it’s cute and peacefully looking. The Bible sketches, on the contrary, an awesome strong animal.
The role that the unicorn plays within the New Age Movement, is exhaustively explained in the book “The Wonders of Unicorns” by Diana Cooper. People in the movement also call themselves light workers. This term refers to their role to spread spiritual light, love and healing in the world. According to the book, unicorns belong to the kingdom of angels and they live in a seventh dimension. They would be spiritual guides for our lives, and fulfil the desires of our souls. “Unicorns have a pure energy and as such they purify us. Their purpose is to bring forward the innocence of our divine self, and to help us to remind who we really are.” In this book it is described how a person can come into contact with these magical beings, and that he/she can even work together with a personal unicorn as a spiritual guide during e.g. healing sessions of light workers.
3 B. Explanation of a spiritual guide or guiding spirit
So all of a sudden, the cute looking little horse becomes a guiding spirit, and you even become a medium. A guiding spirit is a spiritual being that you can call on and ask for advice or help. The guiding spirit can be seen by the medium. Such a spiritual guide can be an ancestral or fairytale animal (‘power animal’ among the Shamans), but they can also occur as the spirit of a dead person or a divinity from a pagan religion. Guiding spirits can also occur by the name Jesus, Mariah or other saints. In this case thus also as a unicorn.
3 C. Entrance in the children’s world
With the rise of the New Age thinking in the 70s and 80s, these conceptions have been spread more and more of course, also within the current society. In the 80s, the series My Little Pony was made and it became a great success. It is still available on Netflix and You Tube.
Different times the series has been re-edited. The last time was in 2022. The ponies in this series are actually unicorns, and they all have magical powers. In the series it’s about the fight between good and evil, and they use white and black magic. White magic would bring fort good powers that save the world from evil.
White magic would bring fort good powers that save the world from evil.
Young children are fully familiarized with magic by watching these series. Then the step for one to make contact with the paranormal world becomes small. A child doesn’t see the danger of it, for it sees in the video movies an apparently safe and beautiful world.
3 D. Explanation of Shamanism
In Shamanism, the unicorn is an important power animal or a totem animal. Shamanism is an occult life style with the goal to bring ‘healing and peace’ into the world by working together with the unseen world. Shamanism is related to New Age. In Shamanism, totem animals are considered to be a kind of protective spirits in the form of animals. Everyone carries a totem animal. Thereby one can, through his/her whole life, encounter different power animals of which each have a certain power that guide him/her on their life’s path.
In Shamanism, totem animals are considered to be a kind of protective spirits in the form of animals.
Beside My Little Pony, there are by now numerous other series about unicorns. Netflix, whatever Christian families are watching, is full of it: ‘Unicorn Academy’, ‘Barbie a touch of Magic’, ‘Not quite Narwhal’, ‘Thelma the Unicorn’ and the popular series ‘Mia and Me’ that tells about the 12- year old girl Mia Marconi who through reading a Magical book can travel to a magic island that’s full of mythological beings, such as winged elves and unicorns. Also in children’s books, the ‘unicorn’ appear frequently. Even for the youngest, such as the little book ‘The little unicorn – go to sleep in 10 minutes’ in which you find pictures and stories about a baby unicorn that say goodbye to fairies, dwarfs and trolls before they go to sleep. For the somewhat older reader, there’s the book called ‘the mysterious unicorn club’, ‘unicorn shows the way’ and Skandar and the unicorn thief’. All of those are books that are often read, also in Christian schools and in Christian homes. The unicorn is so dominant in the children’s and youth culture, and so immensely popular that my daughter received a lot of presents with unicorns at her children’s birthday party. Cuddles, pens, a cup, stickers etc. They were all given with sweet and nice intentions, even from Christian families. This made me realize that there’s no knowledge about the occult background of this being, and that it is important to be alert about it.
Satan has an asset here in his hands: children. He makes it look like a peaceful and helpful ‘guide’, but in reality you’re engaged with a demon.
A unicorn is a being from a make-believe- world. It stimulates the fantasy in a child and it makes it ready to enter into the world of New Age. Satan has an asset here in his hands: children. He makes it look like a peaceful and helpful ‘guide’, but in reality you’re engaged with a demon.
I would like to demonstrate from God’s Word that we as Christians have been instructed not to be engaged with this paranormal world.
The devil is also called Lucifer, light bearer, and has been banned from heaven. With that, he took one-third of the angels and their armies with him. There were originally 12 archangels. 4 of them have thus been thrown from heaven and the 5th is Satan himself. So these fallen angels are dwelling somewhere. They are in the paranormal world.
Diagram made by R.H. Matzken. From the book “Wat gelooft een christen” (What does a Christian believe?)
All angels:
- Heavenly (not fallen) angels
- Fallen angels headed by Lucifer, the Devil
- Fallen angels that are bound. They have no access to man.
- Fallen angels that have access to the spiritual world: demons and devils.
4. Warning from God’s Word
The Lord God prohibited the people of Israel to make contact with this paranormal world. God Himself is also paranormal. After all, He is not visible to us now. He only asks of His people to just cry out to Him.
It’s a commandment! He indeed sees how destructive and dangerous these demonic armies are. Making contact with the occult world is a prohibition. The reason: you’re making contact with the kingdom of the fallen angels, which is dangerous.
Bible texts about the prohibition of magic:
- ‘Do not turn to mediums or spiritists; do not seek them out to be defiled by them. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:31
- “When you enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, a soothsayer, one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who consults the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God is going to drive them out before you. You are to be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations, which you are going to dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so. Deuteronomy 18: 9-14
- For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst or your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to their interpretations of your dreams which you dream. For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,’ declares the Lord. Jeremiah 29:8-9
Apparently, the diviners pretended to be God Himself.
– For the household idols speak deception, and the diviners see an illusion, And tell deceitful dreams; They comfort in vain. Therefore the people wander like sheep. They are wretched because there is no shepherd. Zechariah 10:2
One of the reason why the people had to go into exile was because they listened to the household idols (teraphims) and their divination prophets.
- And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they added up the prices of the books and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. Acts 19:19
The people who lived in Ephesus were very familiar with the occult.
When the gospel was preached there by Paul, a number of Ephesians came to a living faith. It is said that they repented of their sins and they even burnt the books that taught them the magic or idle arts that they practiced.
– Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. Ephesians 5:11
– Ezekiel 28:13-19 describes in the first place the prophecy against Tyre, but at the same time it’s about the fall of Satan.
Vs 13: “You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: carnelian, chrysolite and emerald, topaz, onyx and jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared.
Vs 14: You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. Vs 15: You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till wickedness was found in you.
Vs 16: Through your widespread trade you were filled with violence, and you sinned. So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones.
Vs 17: Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you before kings.
Vs 18: By your many sins and dishonest trade you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.
Vs 19: All the nations who knew you are appalled at you; you have come to a horrible end and will be no more.”
5. How a child opens the door to the paranormal
It often starts in children with an excessive interest in the subject. In this case a unicorn. Many girls have a huge inclination for it. The emotions of a child are made familiar with the world of magic that goes with the unicorn. In the fantasy and play of the child, magic gets intertwined. I saw that happening in the words of my daughter and her friend: “we feel magical”. When a child is taught that the world of magic is beautiful and safe and it continues to believe it, it is possible that the child opens itself up to the paranormal world. The next step may possibly be that it has (awful) dreams or dreams with messages (see also the text of Zechariah 10:2), the child experiences a presence in its room. The child sometimes hears voices or has the idea that it receives messages (divination).
A child is extra vulnerable in this because most children have a strong imagination. They fantasize more and they do a lot by feeling. The devil has an entrance in the life of a child in this. It is in the first place not so much the cuddle animal itself i.e. the material, but the world that’s hidden behind it to which the child is exposed. As parents we should teach our children that there are two worlds and that we need to make a choice for the Lord Jesus, and that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. He is the source from which we can draw wisdom and help, and also comfort, because a child can also search for comfort in the fantasy world of her unicorn. For example before going to sleep.
6. What to do?
I think that it is important to explain to your child that every person has to make a choice to belong to Jesus. It is a good thing to allow a child at an early age to become aware of two worlds. This world that is ruled and guided by the devil and on the other side the world of the Lord God.
I have explained to my daughter that magic is a power of Satan and that they may seem beautiful and good, but dangerous. Unicorns also come from this world, even though they look cute and peaceful. If you want to belong to the Lord Jesus, it is important to be alert and not to allow yourself to be involved with this make-believe world. It starts already with e.g. something very simple such as ‘I sleep with my unicorn, for it helps me to sleep well.’ Pray for forgiveness and protection, certainly if your child has often watched the above-mentioned series on Netflix. Do you still have very young children? Tell them at the first introduction with the unicorn immediately that it is not a good thing and don’t make room for openness. Offer them an alternative and show them how beautiful God’s Creation is and that ‘normal horses’ are awesome animals, and that our God is the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and that we may belong to Him. Our children as God’s creation here on earth, have eternal value! Let us reach out to guide them properly to Eternity.
Dutch author: Elisabeth Stam-Stegeman. This article has been copied with the permission of Stichting Bijbel & Onderwijs. translated by miss Ursula Moestapa. This article is also in the Dutch language available.
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