Being superstitious, Kate brings a charm with her wherever she goes to ward off evil spirits. For a start, could I use "spell" to replace "charm" without changing its meaning. Second, does "ward off" mean "avoid passively" or "resist actively?" Thanks.
ward off means protect oneself from, place obstacles in the path of a charm I think might be a spell and also might be a physical object, whereas a spell would be only something one said or wrote or the effect of some charm... In the stories, the cross held aloft is a charm to ward off vampires, whereas "her beauty cast a spell on me."
A "charm" would work better than "spell". A "spell" is words, usually said aloud (a cognate, by the way, is the word "Gospel"; = god spel, or good news in modern English.) A charm, though, can be an object such as an amulet, and it makes more sense when used with "bring".
