Medusa and the Invention of Spells

You begin a spell with an invocation like Hear me or I beseech you or Oh friend or Listen.

One of the things that can make a spell work is a description of a previous time the spell worked. The Anglo-Saxon spell to heal barren land, for example, begins by gathering parts of every kind of tree growing there except the hardwoods and parts of every known herb except the burrs, packing them with milk and honey into four blessed clods, and burying those clods at the corners of your acreage. A spell is most effective when you want something and can