It could even be said that being in their place is what makes them sacred for if they were taken out of their place, even in thought, the entire order of the universe would be destroyed. Sacred objects therefore contribute to the maintenance of order in the universe by occupying the place allocated to them. Examined superficially and from the outside, the refinements of ritual can appear pointless. The tendency is perfectly understandable, because, for primitives as for the man of all pre-modern societies, the sacred is equivalent to power, and, in the last analysis, to reality. The sacred is saturated with being.
Sacred power means reality and at the same time enduringness and efficacy. . . .
Thus it is easy to understand that religious man deeply desires to be, to participate in reality, to be saturated with power.