A new show about witches is coming to television on January 8th, 2023. Mayfair Witches is the Anne Rice legacy that proves that witches will never go out of style. Television shows and movies have been exploiting the lore for years, bringing book and comic characters to life and creating new ones.
There have been many powerful witches on television, each something special in their own universe. Some of their powers are general, something most witches possess, while others are specific to them. But it's all these abilities combined that determine which of these witches is more powerful than the others.
10 Melisandre - Game Of Thrones (2011 - 2019)
Stream On HBO Max & Hulu
Melisandre from Game Of Thrones was a Red Priestess, giving her a range of magical abilities. She was a formidable opponent and a powerful witch, who had the ability to do blood magic, pyrokinesis, glamour magic and even delay aging.
However, Melisandre takes a much more passive role in the show, almost never using her powers in a fight, instead relying on powerful men to do the job for her. Her powers are also not exact, as can be seen with her prophecies, which are often inaccurate.
9 Rowena Macleod - Supernatural (2005 - 2020)
Stream On Prime Video
Supernatural paved the way for powerful supernatural beings on television, and Rowena Macleod was one of them. She was a strong opponent of the Winchester brothers, so it was a lucky thing she turned into their ally in the end. She even ended up sacrificing herself for the greater good, making her one of the most sympathetic villains on Supernatural.
She is immortal and is able to grant immortality to others. Her spells are so powerful that humans usually die from exposure, and her abilities even include self-resurrection, though she can die from natural causes.
8 Joanna Beauchamp - Witches Of East End (2013 - 2014)
Stream On Hulu
Joanna possesses all the usual witch powers, like the ability to move things with her mind, cast spells and control the weather. Her powers aren't ruled by a specific aspect of her personality, and as her sister Wendy said, she's "the total package" and there is nothing she can't do when at full power.
She can cast spells, even without consulting the Grimoire, and has faced significant threats to her and her family. She vanquished Archibald Browning, managed to kill Vidar after the talisman was no longer affecting her, and killed Penelope Gardiner. The latter had to steal powers from Dash, Killian and Freya to even be able to face Joanna. Many villains have stated they wouldn't dare attack her directly, which speaks of how great her power is.
7 Sabrina Spellman - Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina (2018 - 2020)
Stream On Netflix
Though very young, Sabrina is portrayed as very powerful, and at some point in the show, she becomes the Queen of Hell. She has all the usual witch powers like spell-casting, pyrokinesis, and healing powers, but has also gained the power of resurrection by demanding a sacrifice in return.
She is also one of the four witches that's able to summon hellfire and walk through it without getting hurt, as is seen during her Dark Baptism. Because she can resurrect the dead without consequences and is able to control hellfire, this makes her one of the most powerful witches ever to exist.
6 Wanda Maximoff - WandaVision (2021)
Stream On Disney+
Wanda is likely one of the strongest witches in all of popular culture, and the scene where the MCU superhero gets her powers is one of the best. Some of her known powers include reality-warping, telekinesis, psychic defenses and wielding chaos magic, which she's used for good and evil. She's created entire armies out of thin air, was able to cure Charles Xavier's spine and created two songs with only shards of Mephisto's soul.
She single-handedly altered reality and erased the powers of all mutants, which some did not survive. She's both mentally and magically unstable, and often uses magic for revenge or other evil purposes. She has very little control and possesses less knowledge about magic than other magic users.
5 The Halliwell Sisters - Charmed (1998 - 2006)
Stream On Apple TV & Prime Video
The Power of Three is the collective power of the Halliwell Sisters and is said to be the strongest kind of magic that will ever exist. Even though their individual powers are still great on their own, when they're united, they're at their peak power. The Power of Three needs balance and is only possible due to a very specific combination of three types of powers: Telekinesis, Molecular Immobilization, and the power of Premonitions.
The power makes all three highly resistant to attacks from other magical beings. Though the bond does have some cons, as long as they stay on the same side, their powers are among the greatest to ever exist. The con is, of course, that they need to be together to call upon it.
4 Diana Bishop - A Discovery Of Witches (2018 - 2022)
Stream On AMC+ & Shudder
Though Diana started the show spellbound, her powers increased greatly over the course of the first season of A Discovery of Witches. According to her genetic markers, she has limitless potential as a witch. Not only that - she was discovered to be a weaver, which means she has the power to create new spells. She also possesses unusual abilities for witches, like flying and time-walking.
Later in the show, she absorbed all the information in the Book of Life, which allowed her to kill Peter Knox. Besides that, she had access to the tenth knot, while her pact with the goddess gave her access to goddess' arrow, making her pretty much unstoppable.
3 Bonnie Bennett - The Vampire Diaries (2009 - 2017)
Streaming On Prime Video & HBO Max
Bonnie was one of the most powerful witches in the TVD universe. Being a part of the Bennett bloodline, she already had access to incredible power, but given the fact that she constantly evolved, she also tapped into other sources of magic during her life.
She is strongly skilled in telekinesis and pyrokinesis. Overall, fire plays a significant role in her magic. In the past, she dabbled in dark magic, like expression, which gave her even more power, such as bringing Jeremy back from the dead. But this type of magic isn't sustainable, because it breaks the balance.
2 Willow Rosenberg - Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)
Stream On Disney+
Willow began dabbling in magic slowly but was soon forced to elevate it. Her first bigger spell included giving Angel a soul for the second time to stop him. Her powers grew after that, especially with Tara's help. She had enough power to hurt hell god Glory and even brought Buffy back to life.
She also dabbled in dark magic, which she became addicted to, and it consumed her. Anya, at some point, assumed that Willow was one of the most powerful Wiccans. When magic consumed Willow, it was supposed that she had the power to destroy the world, which she very nearly did, so her powers are definitely among the greatest. In the end, she also gathered enough power to make any potential slayer a slayer, which was no small feat either.
1 Regina Mills - Once Upon A Time (2011 - 2018)
Stream On Disney+
Regina demonstrated several powerful types of magic. She was able to do different spells, including blood magic, protection spells, and conjuring up objects from nothing. Her scope is possibly the greatest among all witches.
Her full powers were on display when she managed to curse an entire town of people to forget who they were. She was able to kill someone with a single snap of her hand and she managed to make life very difficult for the heroes of Once Upon A Time before she had a redemption arc and became the best character of Once Upon A Time.