El Nahual — The Shapeshifting Witch
El Nahual (or Nagual) is a shapeshifting witch or sorcerer in Mesoamerican and Hispanic folklore, with a strong presence in Mexican-American tradition. The belief, originating with the Aztecs and other Nahua peoples, holds that certain individuals have the spiritual power to transform into animals — most commonly jaguars, coyotes, dogs, owls, or turkeys. Each person is born with a tonal (animal spirit companion) linked to their birth date in the Mesoamerican calendar, but only those with special power can actually assume the animal's form. Nagualism was practiced by pre-Columbian shamans and i