Warning! Contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness sees Stephen Strange's sorcery face off against Scarlet Witch's witchcraft - but which MCU magic is more powerful? While magic is a relatively murky concept within the MCU, Doctor Strange 2 draws some key distinctions between the two magical practices of sorcery and witchcraft as Strange and Wanda Maximoff do battle across the Multiverse. Yet despite showcasing several clashes between these two schools of magic, the particular magic wielders featured in Doctor Strange 2 make it hard to decipher whether or not sorcery is stronger than witchcraft at first glance.
In Doctor Strange 2, it's revealed that several of the monsters and demons chasing America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez) had been bound with runes - an indicator of witchcraft according to Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). This motivated him to seek out Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), unaware that she was the one who had bound and sent the demons, wanting America Chavez's powers for herself so she could reunite with her children in another universe. As such, it seems as though the use of runes is a big part of witchcraft, mirroring Agatha Harkness's runes which bound Wanda in WandaVision. In contrast, it seems as though sorcery can be defined through summoning energies, either from the wielder's own self or from other dimensions, such as the orange light constructs commonly used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts of Kamar-Taj.
What makes identifying which magic is stronger so challenging is the unique power levels attached to Doctor Strange 2's main cast. For example, Wanda Maximoff isn't an average witch. As the Scarlet Witch, Wanda does not need incantations like Agatha Harkness. A wielder of great chaos magic, Wanda also uses the Darkhold written by the Chaos god Chthon. As such, she defeats several of the Masters of the Mystic Arts quite easily, showcasing her immense power level in the MCU. Likewise, the sorcerers who do stand even a small chance against her are the Sorcerer Supreme Wong and the equally gifted Doctor Strange (who himself had to use the Darkhold to defeat her). Essentially, there's never a point in Doctor Strange 2 where a typical witch fights an average sorcerer.
It also seems as though there is some overlap between sorcery and witchcraft in the MCU. For example, Doctor Strange's spell in Spider-Man: No Way Home used the Runes of Kof-Kol to make the world forget that Peter Parker was Spider-Man. However, the upcoming Agatha: House of Harkness series in development can perhaps provide more details on witchcraft vs. sorcery distinctions, especially now that every copy of the Darkhold has been destroyed, resulting in Agatha presumedly being more of a standard witch in the MCU. Furthermore, it does seem as though witches primarily draw and take power from other beings, as evidenced by Agatha killing and taking power from her coven and Wanda's attempt to take power from America. In contrast, it seems sorcerers primarily take energies from other dimensions, a far less dark practice (so long as they don't take from forbidden sources like the Dark Dimension).
In summary, there are a lot of extenuating circumstances in Doctor Strange 2 (even prior to its post-credits scenes) that get in the way of fully confirming whether or not sorcery is more powerful than witchcraft, even as new distinctions were made. However, sorcery does seem to be the generally more noble magic based on what's been seen in the MCU thus far. At any rate, it would certainly be satisfying to get a more definitive answer from future projects following the high-level magic on show across Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
