Fertility rite - Definition and Overview

Fertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes. As with the sacrifices of humans which many scholars think that ancient peoples made to ensure good fortune (be that as to harvests or hunting or warfare or other endeavors), and which are echoed in the Christian mythos of the Eucharist, fertility rites are a variety of sympathetic magic in which the forces of nature are to be influenced by the example acted out in the ritual.

External link to Columbia Encyclopedia : "Fertility rites" (http://www.bartleby.com/65/fe/fertil-rt.html)