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John Granrose, Ph.D., Director of Studies "E" at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich

Each culture will have its own set of spells, naturally. However, the range of the purposes for which spells have been cast is remarkable. Included are virtually all things which humans might desire but have difficulty obtaining.

For instance, in just one ancient culture there were spells for memory, for foreknowledge, for attracting love, for restraining anger, for producing a trance, for inducing insomnia (presumably in others!), for keeping bugs out of the house, for requesting a dream oracle, and for gaining control on one's shadow …, along with many others.

There were also, naturally, spells to protect one from spells cast by others..............

Perhaps the primary use of magic words is in the type of ritual known as "casting a spell”. According to Malinowski, "the most important element in magic is the spell." He analyses the words or sounds involved in terms of their phonetic effect ..their stating or commanding the desired aim .., and their mythological allusions .. Because of the complexity of all this, Malinowski argues, "The slightest alteration from the original pattern would be fatal."