Taboo is in a dichotomous pair with transgression that mirrors the profane world (that recognizes taboos) and the sacred world (in which limited acts of transgression are practiced).
A Taboo is a strong power of extraordinary nature that must be kept under control by strict regulations and ceremonies.
A Taboo is a prohibited action about which a strong inclination to perform exist in the unconscious.
The Taboo is a restriction distinct from moral prohibitions in that they fall into no system that declares quite generally that certain abstinences must be observed and gives reasons for that necessity.
A Taboo is instituted only to be transgressed, the transgression gives us anguish and re-establishes the taboo.

The Taboo is a restriction distinct from religious prohibitions in that they are not based upon any divine ordinance, but may be said to impose themselves on their own account.
A Taboo is a tension between fear and desire, a tension which is the essence of social life, binding humans together through a fear of, but also a fascination for the sacred object.