As an additional cost to cast this spell, sacrifice a creature.
Draw two cards.
Village Rites is one of the best one-mana draw spells in black, full stop. The instant speed and cheap cost make it incredibly flexible: you draw two cards for whenever a creature is about to die, gets exiled, or you just need gas.
The real magic is turning liabilities into value. Respond to targeted removal or a board wipe by sacrificing the doomed creature — you "save" it as cards. It also enables death triggers, so it's premium glue in aristocrats decks (Blood Artist, Zulaport Cutthroat), token strategies with expendable bodies, and reanimator lists that want creatures in the yard anyway.
Combo decks love it too as a cheap, instant-speed engine to dig toward pieces while feeding a sac outlet.
When to skip it: decks light on creatures or that can't profitably part with them — heavy artifact, enchantment, or spellslinger builds. If you don't have a steady stream of fodder, this is just a worse Sign in Blood. Otherwise, near-auto-include in black.