The Incantations chapter, when Cam gets there, is the shortest so far.  If you're not a native speaker of whatever language the spell is in, the book claims, you should consult with one until you have a native-quality accent for that incantation specifically.  (Or just have them cast it, if it doesn't need to be you in particular.)  It's possible to translate spells, if you want to; you should stay as close as possible to the original in both format and text.  Consult with or be a fluent speaker.  (For translated spells in this volume, the original incantation is also included.)

Incantations don't inherently have to be poetry but it's much easier to craft ones that are.  Spells in general are about setting up a framework where it's very obvious what you want to happen, and then adding a lot of internal connective material.  At least one of symbolism of objects and symbolism of time is essential; having both helps.  Internal meter and rhyme help; err on the side of more structure rather than less.  For those with absolutely no knack for poetry, it's possible to add scaffolding with mathematical properties of words, or with music, or with diagrams.  Some spellcasters work only in drawings and don't use incantations at all.  Generally, the more powerful or more delicate the thing you're trying to accomplish is, the more detail and support—the more fanfare, the more limitations, the more different types of things—the spell will need to have.

Once you think you have something you think is good enough to be a spell, you can use the divination on this page for a basic test of the result, and if that goes well you can use the transformation spell on this page to magically solidify it into something that will actually work.  If you don't perform the transformation spell yours will never work; it's approximately impossible to make a new spell by accident.

If you stumble over your words while casting a spell, you can say 'pfeh', wait at least one second, and start over from the beginning of the line.

Symbolism of objects and time?

Having material ingredients and/or constraints on when it can be cast.

But how are these symbolic, is there a correspondence of what various such ingredients and timings mean?

It doesn't specify here and if he pages back to the relevant chapters they don't really either.

Well, then, he'll ask Jeremy.

(Flip) C H (flip) 1 8  (flip) A N D (flip) 1 9 (flip)  H A V E        XA M PL E S   B UT  NO  RU L E S                 T EC H N I CA L  Y   A L   A P  L ICA T I ON   C H S    D O            (flip) maybe (flip) NO T R EA L (flip) I don't know

"CHS?"

(Flip)  A  P  T  E  R  S

"Okay." He will note analyzing this as a to-do and keep reading.

Chapter 5, Dreams, is also pretty brief.  If you sleep near a ghost, he or she might affect your dreams.  This is an innate ability that they have and not based on spellcraft, but check out these imbuing and transforming spells for how to ward against that.

Some spells have as a prerequisite that you must have dreamed about a particular subject within a certain timeframe beforehand.  The author recommends various basic lucid dreaming tips in addition to ways to stress yourself out about the thing in such a way as to cause dreams about them.  Sometimes placing relevant objects around or in your bed can help.  It seems possible that thinking sufficiently hard about the subject while under hypnosis or the effects of hallucinogens might qualify, but as the book went to print the evidence was not conclusive.  Naturally, if you have a ghost handy, they can help you.

Sometimes dreams are prophetic but it's really only a very small fraction of them; most dreams mean nothing.  Some people claim to have a talent for it and most of them are probably wrong, but if you have strong reason to believe in retrospect that you had one, you can watch out for commonalities between it and dreams you have going forward.

In what way might sleeping near a ghost affect his dreams? Like, does the ghost control how that works, the "ghosts can help you" thing sounds like they do but...

The phrasing does make it seem pretty intention-based, yeah, although not necessarily with any great deal of finesse.

"Have you ever done the dream thing? I'm guessing it hasn't come up."

(Flip)      No

Figures. Onward.

Chapter 8:  Dying.  (Chapters 6 and 7 are as Cam remembers them.)

This one's written in a much more personal and casual style than the others so far—the other chapters refer to 'the author' without use of first person, but this one starts with, "You've only got one shot at dying, so you might as well make the most of it.  Here's my advice."

She suggests dying in the house of a friend, or ideally some friends, and most ideally some friends with children you can tolerate who are going to inherit the place.  Establish signals ahead of time for when you want music or television or quiet or page-turning; teach them untethering and manifesting spells.  "End things at an appropriate age, before you deteriorate—but be wary of acting too soon!  Youngsters too often think youth is everything there is to life, but there's fullness and richness well beyond your twenties.  Leaving a pretty little ghost is not at all an equal trade for another thirty or forty years of heartbeats."  She excepts people with debilitating diseases or injuries from this, though she notes that "Little things like arthritis will clear right up upon death and need not factor into your consideration."

Once a place and time have been decided, the author recommends using the act itself to further any goals you might have.  "There's a lot you can do with a corpse, and much more so with an expected one and a bit of cleverness!"  She recommends implicating people you don't like in your murder.  There are lots of ways to do this but in particular she recommends getting some friends to banish your corpse and then retrieve it somewhere inconvenient for your enemies (see chapters 18 and 19).  "As for the method, you yourself know what sorts of pain you tolerate best.  I recommend morphine, if you can get a hold of it without suspicion, or drowning.  And you may always ask your associates to desecrate your corpse once your ghost is well secure."

He will have to approach this person cautiously if he gets a useful response from the publisher. He would not care to be implicated in her murder.

Anyway!! Next!