his diocese; for his ninth Pastoral Letter, in which he exposes at
length the character of Nagualism, is dated from the metropolitan city
of Ciudad Real, on May 24, 1698. As much of it is germane to my theme, I
translate as follows:

"There are certain bad Christians of both sexes who do not hesitate
to follow the school of the Devil, and to occupy themselves with
evil arts, divinations, sorceries, conjuring, enchantments,
fortune-telling, and other means to forecast the future.

"These are those who in all the provinces of New Spain are known by
the name of _Nagualists_. They pretend that the birth of men is
regulated by the course and movements of stars and planets, and by
observing the time of day and the months in which a child is born,
they prognosticate its condition and the events, prosperous or
otherwise, of its life; and the worst is that these perverse men
have written down their signs and rules, and thus deceive the
erring and ignorant.

"These Nagualists practice their arts by means of Repertories and
superstitious Calendars, where are represented under their proper
names all the Naguals of stars, elements, birds, fishes, brute
beasts and dumb animals; with a vain note of days and months, so
that they can announce which corresponds to the day of birth of the
infant. This is preceded by some diabolical ceremonies, after which
they designate the field or other spot, where, after seven years
shall have elapsed, the Nagual will appear to ratify the bargain.
As the time approaches, they instruct the child to deny God and
His Blessed Mother, and warn him to have no fear, and not to make
the sign of the cross. He is told to embrace his Nagual tenderly,
which, by some diabolical art, presents itself in an affectionate
manner even though it be a ferocious beast, like a lion or a tiger.
Thus, with infernal cunning they persuade him that this Nagual is
an angel of God, who will look after him and protect him in his
after life.

"To such diabolical masters the intelligent Indians apply, to learn
from these superstitious Calendars, dictated by the Devil, their
own fortunes, and the Naguals which will be assigned to their
children, even before they are baptized. In most of the Calendars,
the seventh sign is the figure of a man and a snake, which they