Aztec witches were ordinarily held in high esteem because their black practices were believed to have been assigned by the gods. However, if they fell in disfavor or overplayed their role, they could be executed. To witches were attributed the powers to change themselves into animals, cause sickness and death, and fly through the air — sometimes in the form of a whirlwind. These superstitions were similar to those in Europe. Other commonalities included inducing illnesses. The methods differed, however, in that the Spanish used the evil eye (mal ojo) and jabbed dolls with pins while the Aztecs drew blood, introduced worms or pebbles into the body, or captured the soul. Other differences included the lack of organization and harmful qualities among those cultures in the New World. Spanish witchery was more organized and widely perceived as a general threat to social order. Witches were organized as bands of prostitutes, sexual deviants, and procurers. Old and New World forms of witchery melded together in New Spain and gave rise to a new body of supernatural lore.
Witchcraft (brujería), sorcery (hechicería), the evil eye (mal ojo), and other forms of occultism became part of the cultures of the Southwest. The use of potions, magic stones, dolls, the evil eye, black rituals, and other methods of witchery has been documented in the region for the past three hundred years. Spells of different sorts have been believed in by members of the populations in the region. A rain of stones has been part of this mythology. Medicine men and curers have been part of the folklore surrounding witchery, and their perceived involvements in dark magic have varied with the movements against, and executions of, "witches" that have arisen from widespread fears of bewitchment. The connection between them is herbalism, which is linked to both medicine and witchcraft.
