animal sacrifice, n.Definitions

Animal sacrifice (n.) as ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠burnt offering: as gods grew less material, eating their portion became a stumbling-block — so fire turned the flesh to smoke, a food fit for the divine.

Animal sacrifice (n.) that ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠is more than a gift is the sacrifice of the god himself — the bull for Mithras, the lamb for Christ — and so of one's own animal nature, the instinctual libido.