Perhaps you've picked up a Scroll and you don't know what it does. Or maybe you're shopping for new Spells and want to read about them first. You could look them up in your manual -- if you can find it.
These pages list all the Spells and Abilities as they are given in the game. There's also an additional screen for each one that gives the type of Damage delivered, if any. Once you reach the Spell pages you can at the top of the menu frame to check out other Spells.