I only got to see it one time and it was for performance purposes,
at the Denver Black Arts Festival. (Black Arts as in African)
But I kinda knew the people involved, and I got 50 dollars thats says they know how to do this stuff for real.

No doubt.

In the context of modern society, I don't think that animal sacrifice for purposes of religion is neccessary. (Human-life sacrifice is out of the question in any context with me.) However, if you are a hunter or if you raise your own livestock for food, then by all means, show your appreciation and gratitude at the time of it's death for the food that you will get from that animal. If you do that in a prayerful or ritualistic way, then so be it. And if you, like the vast majority of us, buy your meat from the store, then being thankful while you are cooking and eating it is quite sufficient.
Incidentally, many people don't realize that even if you are a vegetarian, the food that you eat still has to be killed first. Most of us just can't hear a head of lettuce scream when it's broken up for salad, or the carrots cry when pulled out of the ground. While I'm not that sensitive to the life energy of plants yet to pick up on that, I have heard of people who are. Something always has to die to sustain life. Be thankful and aware of this.

Great post!

I agree with you. As a follower of creole voodoo, I omit this practice for that Xact reason. When I make a sacrifice, it's of something that I value, not some random creature that I have no attachments to.

Speaking of Creole voodoo, I was just going to chime in with a suggestion of New Orleans, as it's one of the few places in the USA where there are multiple different voodoo priests and priestesses in the city. Heck, in city park there one time I noticed a voodoo priestess giving instruction in voodoo to another woman. I wisely backed away slowly.

Why did you back away? And, are there still many voodoo practitioners in New Orleans or did the hurricane move them out?

An old teacher of mine, learned voodoo in Haiti where she lived for several years, and she explain us, that a Bocor (witch) or a Ounga (man witch) are strictly forbidden to kill animals or humans. So, that was another kind of ritual, but not voodoo. History Channel was cheating people, but rather be careful of believing everything TV shows.

Voodoo is a very generic term....like Christian. There are many different variations of it and there are a few who still practice animal sacrifice. And, the religions in Africa that Voodoo originated from definitely practice animal sacrifice.

Animal sacrifice is not my thing but I understand why they do it, it makes sense and I don't see anything wrong with it in the way they do it. I am slowly switching over to vegetarianism because of what we in America do to farm animals. Now, that's animal cruelty.

An animal sacrifice in the past would be of high value. That represents the highest gift of all, life. As well as an investment of time and energy in raising the animal, and the food value of the animal that it represents. In a farming community livestock often represents wealth, social status, position in social group. Typically the animal should be without flaw, no getting rid of a weak or damaged animals which may have not been fit for sale or eating. You only want to give your very best!

Just stumbled across this old thread and it's interesting to see what I thought about animal sacrifice back then.

I have thought a lot about this over the years. I read a really interesting article online that talked about this in terms of Christianity and now I can't find it. I'm going to look for it though. But, the basic idea was that blood sacrifice is required for offerings to God and atonement for sins. Most Pagan religions used human sacrifices. God hated this and that is why he forbid Paganism and the worship of other gods. He had the Jews (or I guess they were just called Israelites back then) offer animal sacrifices. God's condemnation of Paganism and Witchcraft was due to the sacrifice of humans, particularly children.

So, ultimately, he sends his son to be the ultimate sacrifice and there is no longer any need for blood sacrifices.

I need to find the article. It explains it much better than I.

Realistically, one must wonder where blood sacrifice originated in the first place and why. Here's a theory. Some aliens (mistook as Gods by primitive humans) were blood drinking flesh eating reptiles.


The fairy tales about sacrificing a virgin to the dragon.... come to mind. And the book "The biggest Secret" by David Icke claims that these shape shifting flesh eating reptilian creatures still exist.

That sounds like an interesting article, I'd like to read it.

Well, it seems that blood sacrifice goes back as far as recorded history. It's hard to say when it started.

Yeah, I'm trying to find it. I can't believe I didn't bookmark it somewhere.

It happens to the best of us.

The big big question is WHY is blood sacrifice required for offerings to God and atonement for sins?

Where did that strange custom come from??

My understanding is that it is "Life". Or "life force". The only perfect offering.

Doesn't make sense to kill something then.

(I know that back in the dark ages people were convinced that what gave them life was the blood.)

It is an outdated belief. (You need more than blood to be alive.)

I started a thread on it in General Religion.