A When casting a spell is there always an incantation — or is it belief or will-power that produces results?
This depends on the tradition — and the spell. Some spells employ incantations (to gods, demons, elemental forces), some use objects (roots, herbs, minerals, amulets, talismans, seals), some utilise actions (sprinkling, dancing, stepping in a pattern, bathing), and many use a combination of these. Generally speaking, spoken or recited incantations, spells, or rhymed chants are more common in European folk-magic and its derivatives (including Wicca and Neo-Paganism) than in the magical practices of other cultures. The lack of such spoken spells does not, however, imply that the other culture’s spell-casters are less “magically adept” or that they emphasize will-power over rhymes. It simply describes that they come from another culture.
