Likutei Moharan 25:6/ליקוטי מוהר"ן כ״ה:ו׳

16. The following relates to section 1:

2“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit”—the breaking of the illusion < is achieved through> the sacrifices. Study there. This is the concept of pressing on the sacrifice. For sacrifices are brought from animals, which correspond to the power of imagination, because an animal also has the power of imagination. Now, when a person follows the imagination of his heart—namely, after his desires, God forbid, which come from the power of imagination—this is literally animalistic behavior. For an animal also has the power of imagination.

3Therefore, when a person sins, heaven forfend—with all sins coming from the imagination, from where all desires are drawn—he consequently has to bring an animal as a sacrifice. And he has to press his hands on it and at that time confess all his sins over the sacrifice. By doing this, all the sins and all the power of the imagination are drawn onto the animal, which corresponds to imagination, as explained. Afterwards, immediately after the pressing, the slaughter. The animal is slaughtered as a sacrifice, and through this the imagination is subdued and broken.