Mormon notes that "there were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics; and the power of the evil one was wrought upon all the face of the land, . . ." (Mormon 1:19).
According to Hunter and Ferguson, usually those who sought or practiced the black arts were endeavoring to obtain some unfair advantage over their fellows. The practices were condemned under ancient Israelite law but were never wholly eradicated. The law is given in Deuteronomy as follows:
There shall not be found among you anyone that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of time, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord; and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. (Deuteronomy 18:10-12; )
Virtually the same law existed in Middle America, even as late as the Conquest period. Sorcery and witchcraft were illegal if employed to injure the community or the individual.
In striking confirmation, Ixtlilxochitl grouped together four of the pseudo-arts practiced by the Tultecas prior to the Conquest: necromancy, enchantment, sorcery and astrology. Necromancers are those who pretend to forecast events by alleged communication with the dead. Necromancy is generally regarded as one of the black arts, along with sorcery. The latter is related to magic or witchery. Astrology, too, is a false "science" by which the destinies of men are allegedly told by study of the stars. Ixtlilxochitl's statement on the black arts in Mesoamerica is similar to the Book of Mormon report of happenings in Bountiful-Zarahemla just prior to the expulsion of the Nephites from that ancient center (Mormon 2:10-11). [Milton R. Hunter and Thomas Stuart Ferguson, Ancient America and the Book of Mormon, pp. 290-291]
Mormon 1:19 There were sorceries, and witchcrafts, and magics ([Illustration]): Secrecy was heavily ingrained in Mesoamerican life. Witchcraft and sorcery were, and still are, common ingredients in the social and ritual life of certain groups. The remarkable piece of ceramic sculpture shown here dates to the Maya Late Classic. It recalls Mormon 1:19, written in the fourth century A.D., "There were sorceries, and witchcrafts and magics . . . upon all the face of the land." [John L. Sorenson, Images of Ancient America, p. 119]