  We present the first high-resolution, submillimeter-wavelength polarimetric
observations of -- and thus direct observations of the magnetic field
morphology within -- the dense gas of the Pillars of Creation in M16. These
850$\,\mu$m observations, taken as part of the BISTRO (B-Fields in Star-forming
Region Observations) Survey using the POL-2 polarimeter on the SCUBA-2 camera
on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), show that the magnetic field runs
along the length of the pillars, perpendicular to, and decoupled from, the
field in the surrounding photoionized cloud. Using the Chandrasekhar-Fermi
method we estimate a plane-of-sky magnetic field strength of $170-320\,\mu$G in
the Pillars, consistent with their having been formed through compression of
gas with initially weak magnetization. The observed magnetic field strength and
morphology suggests that the magnetic field may be slowing the pillars'
evolution into cometary globules. We thus hypothesize that the evolution and
lifetime of the Pillars may be strongly influenced by the strength of the
coupling of their magnetic field to that of their parent photoionized cloud --
i.e. that the Pillars' longevity results from magnetic support
