Italian words for spells, charms, and the working of magic.

Ciao a tutti!

I've spent that last couple of days in bed with a very mild case of the flu and it's given me the time to do a bit of light research into my Italian language lessons.

As an Italian-American, I'm always looking for Italian words and phrases to re-integrate into my practice.  It can be a bit difficult as many words that come down to use through "Italian-American Language" aren't necessarily correct Italian.  They often are dialects, slang, or combinations.

A mundane example that many will be familiar with are:
gabagool - slang/dialect for capicola
prochut - slang for prosciutto
rigot - slang for ricotta
manigot - slang for manicotti
and, of course maddon' or mahdawn for "madonna mia".

Unless there is a personal or compelling reason for keeping the Italian-American slang, my personal preference is to figure our what the correct root word is and to use it and its pronunciation.  For instance, I say "prosciutto" and not "prochut" and I also say "mozzarella" (pronounced mohz-zah-REL-lah) instead of "mootsorell" because I have no personal attachment to the slang. For the most part, I also think that the original Italian sounds more pleasing to my ears.

What does this have to do with spells and charms? I'm glad you asked. :-)
It seems that Italian (not even counting the various dialects) have a whole host of words that can apply to spells and charms and magical workings. 

Here are just a few of the words that I've come across:

charm - fascino
charm bag - borsa (fascino borsa)
conjure - evocare / scongiuro
enchantment - incanto
exorcism - scongiuro / exorcismo
hex - fattura
incantation - incanto, incantesimo
sending (casting) - invio
spell - turno (to turn or change)
spell - sortilegio
spells - scongiuri
to bewitch - a stregare / affatturare
wards - scongiura
a Working - funzionamento magico (magical working)

I'd love it if my native Italian speaking friends can shed some light on this and maybe correct the translation/usage of these words.  I have my own favorites like fascino borsa, scongiuro, incanto, fattura, and funzionamento. 

What's your favorite?


Benedizioni,

---Vincenzo