User blog comment:Dryuuu/FAVOURITE SOUNDTRACKS OF SERIES 4/@comment-4650675-20120511120751/@comment-3325613-20120511122351

It's interesting you mentioned the spell Morgana used on Gwen in S4Ep2: it's also the spell Merlin casts on Arthur in S4Ep3 after "killing" Uther. So it's like Merlin and Morgana have "studied" the same spells!

What I think about spells (I'm sorry to go off topic) is that sorcerers in "Merlin" know another language (Old English, or the language of the Old Religion) and they simply make sentences that indicate what they want magic to do; it's not that there are "fixed" spells (like in Harry Potter) but every time they create an original sentence that allows them to focus their powers. At least, that happens in some cases (maybe not when they find an enchantment written in a sorcery book). So, for example, Morgana had not studied by heart a spell to transform someone into a deer, she just invented on the spot a phrase that could work.