The unicorn is a mythic or magical beast, resembling a horse but with the tail of a lion, the fetlocks of a Clydesdale, the beard of a goat, and a single shining horn on its forehead. The unicorn represents sacred purity : its horn can cure all disease and purify food and water of all dangers, and it can only be approached by a virgin (usually a female virgin but in later stories male virgins will do). In symbolism, the unicorn is lunar, its metal silver, of the element of water.