The old priest squats on the ground uttering incantations before cutting the chicken's throat.

BBC: Ghana witch camps: Widows' lives in exile

The film is a succession of sweeping dramatic gestures and lofty incantations performed in an atmosphere of hushed solemnity.

NEWYORKER: Akira Kurosawa's Dreams

There are just a few too many incantations and transformations, and the climactic scene is just this side of tedious.

WSJ: Film Review

After sprinkling some water and murmuring incantations, he duly identified the culprit, who was thrown off with her cargo of vegetables and chickens.

ECONOMIST: Tales of the improbable

Burckhardt, arriving here at sunset, realised it was too late to reach the tomb and sacrificed his goat on the spot with a few hasty incantations.

BBC: Unveiling the secrets of Petra

Half the Olympic program, on the other hand, was given over to religious ritual: processions, hymn-singing, incense-burning, gory animal sacrifice and strange incantations by exotically attired priests.

WSJ: The Ancient Olympics: Mud, Sex, Hymns...Sports Too

It takes more than incantations.

FORBES: The Secret to Victory: Feed The Opportunity, Starve The Problem