Determining the most powerful witch in fiction is no easy task. With magic users spanning books, movies, TV shows, anime, manga, and more, there are countless powerful candidates to consider. To make this ranking, witches were evaluated based on the scope of their magical abilities, the strength of their spells, their knowledge and skill level, and their overall influence and impact within their fictional universes.
Factors in Evaluating Magical Prowess
When comparing fictional witches, there are several key factors to consider:
- Raw magical power – How much sheer magical energy or strength a witch possesses.
- Spell repertoire – The range, versatility, and power of different spells a witch can perform.
- Knowledge and skill – A witch’s knowledge of magic and spellcasting ability.
- Unique abilities – Special powers or abilities that set a witch apart.
- Intelligence – A witch’s intellect, creativity, and ability to learn.
- Experience – How long a witch has studied and practiced magic.
- Importance in-universe – How significant a role the witch plays in their fictional world.
- Feats – Notable accomplishments that demonstrate a witch’s power.
Even with all these criteria, comparing witches across different franchises can be challenging when power scales vary wildly. For this ranking, the focus will be on how imposing and influential each witch is within their own fictional universe.
Honorable Mentions
Before getting to the top 10, here are some honorable mentions of powerful witches in fiction that didn’t quite make the cut:
- Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) – Willow started out as a shy computer nerd but eventually became a very skilled witch, using spells to heal, teleport, and even resurrect people.
- Bonnie Bennett (The Vampire Diaries) – As a descendant of a long line of witches, Bonnie wielded enough power to take down ancient vampires and paranormal threats.
- Queenie (American Horror Story: Coven) – With voodoo magic allowing her to inflict whatever damage she receives on her attackers, Queenie was a formidable witch.
- Samantha Stephens (Bewitched) – The nose-twitching housewife kept her magical powers in check but was capable of incredible feats.
- Nancy Downs (The Craft) – Nancy gained enough power to cast deadly curses and control others’ bodies before losing her powers.
Now, let’s count down the top 10 most powerful witches in fictional works!
10. Hermione Granger (Harry Potter series)
While still a student, Hermione Granger distinguished herself as the brightest witch of her age at Hogwarts. Skilled in charms, potions, and Transfiguration, Hermione helped Harry take down evil forces like Professor Quirrell, Basilisks, and Death Eaters. Known for her intellect, levelheadedness, and magical talent, Hermione became a powerful asset for the Order of the Phoenix.
Notable Feats:
- Cast advanced spells like the Polyjuice Potion while still a student.
- Used a Time-Turner to attend extra classes and alter time.
- Helped destroy Horcruxes and defeat Death Eaters alongside Harry.
9. Elphaba Thropp (Wicked)
Born with natural magical abilities, Elphaba Thropp was a misunderstood outcast who attended Shiz University and was best friends with Glinda the Good Witch. Green-skinned and incredibly powerful, Elphaba resisted the corrupt Wizard’s regime. She mastered advanced telekinetic powers, weather manipulation, flying spellcasting, and magical artifact creation. Her magical strength and determination to fight injustice make her one of fiction’s strongest witches.
Notable Feats:
- Defied gravity using spells to fly and levitate objects.
- Created a flying broomstick capable of transporting others.
- Demonstrated powerful telekinetic abilities.
- Survived assassination attempts from the Wizard’s forces.
8. Morgana Le Fay (Arthurian legend)
As the half-sister of King Arthur, Morgana Le Fay used her magic in attempts to overthrow the kingdom. Originally Arthur’s ally, Morgana became his nemesis, engaging Merlin in magical combat and wielding powerful dark magic. She was skilled in healing, shapeshifting, curses, charms, and weather control. Though defeated and sealed away by Merlin, Morgana remained an infamous sorceress within Arthurian lore.
Notable Feats:
- Fought evenly against the wizard Merlin with magic.
- Cast curses powerful enough to bind and restrict Merlin.
- Skilled in magical healing, able to save mortally wounded knights.
- Used illusion magic to disguise herself and control others’ perceptions.
7. Circe (Greek mythology)
An immortal sorceress and minor goddess within Greek mythology, Circe was a formidable witch who lived on the island of Aeaea. She transformed her enemies into animals with magic and commanded powerful charms. When Odysseus arrived on her island, Circe’s magic could not affect him due to Hermes’ intervention. But her knowledge of herbs, potions, transfiguration, illusions, and other magic earns her a high spot on this list.
Notable Feats:
- Transformed men into pigs and other animals with her wand.
- Knew counterspells to reverse her own magic when she chose.
- Used drugs and potions to put people in a trance or alter perception.
- Lived alone and commanded magical guardians on her island.
6. Sabrina Spellman (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)
As a half-witch, half-mortal high school student, Sabrina Spellman learned to harness the magical abilities she inherited from her warlock father. She gained a variety of magical powers and spellcasting abilities, able to conjure objects, unlock doors, and later, even alter memories. As she delved deeper into witchcraft, Sabrina’s powers grew to include necromancy, energy beams, mind control, healing, time manipulation, and more, making her one of fiction’s most versatile witches.
Notable Feats:
- Defeated ancient witches, warlocks, demons, and other threats.
- Resurrected the dead with forbidden necromancy spells.
- Altered the memories and minds of other witches.
- Opened time portals and manipulated the flow of time.
5. Scarlet Witch (Marvel Comics)
Born Wanda Maximoff, the Scarlet Witch is an extremely powerful witch and mutant Avenger within Marvel comics. She can manipulate chaos magic and probability to cause “hexes” altering reality in favorable ways. These hexes give her an incredible range of magical abilities including telekinesis, energy projection, force field generation, and matter manipulation on the molecular level. At her peak, Wanda has rewritten the entire Marvel universe – a feat few others could accomplish.
Notable Feats:
- Capable of catastrophic, reality-warping spells when focused.
- Rewrote the fabric of reality on a universal scale during House of M.
- Defeated cosmic entities like Chthon and villain groups like the X-Men.
- Altered the probabilities of outcomes to create powerful “hex” effects.
4. Ursula (The Little Mermaid)
The iconic sea witch Ursula from Disney’s The Little Mermaid may seem an unlikely candidate, but she possesses incredibly powerful magic. A half-octopus, half-woman hybrid, Ursula’s abilities include: weather control, matter transfiguration, hypnotic song spells, potion brewing, telekinesis, underwater tornado creation, elemental magic, shape-shifting, and soul magic. She can shrink merpeople, steal voices, and trade transformations in binding magical contracts – making her one of Disney’s most formidable villains.
Notable Feats:
- Transformed Ariel into a human in exchange for her voice.
- Conjured massive underwater cyclones and lightning storms.
- Shape-shifted into a beautiful woman to hypnotize Prince Eric.
- Stole King Triton’s trident and gained full control over the sea.
3. Morgan le Fay (Supernatural)
Based loosely on the Arthurian legend, Supernatural’s version of Morgan le Fay is immensely powerful. As a centuries-old enchantress, Morgan effortlessly casts spells and exhibits complete magical mastery. She can teleport objects and people, summon beings across time and space, project destructive energy, control minds, shapeshift, transmute matter, create pocket dimensions, and warp reality itself. Having contended with the likes of Merlin, gods, and cosmic entities, Morgan proved herself as one of the greatest magical threats faced by the Winchester brothers.
Notable Feats:
- Created pocket dimensions that distorted time and space.
- Teleported the Winchesters through time along with an entire diner.
- Easily trounced angels, monsters, deities, and other magical beings.
- Matched telekinetic blows with Merlin before ultimately defeating him.
2. Helena Ravenclaw (Harry Potter)
One of the four founders of Hogwarts, Rowena Ravenclaw was an almost mythically powerful witch in the Harry Potter universe and medieval history. She wielded unknown levels of magic and helped build the Hogwarts castle itself with protective enchantments still intact centuries later. Along with Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin and Helga Hufflepuff, she was part of one of the most formidable magical groups ever assembled. Ravenclaw’s diadem artifact boosted the wearer’s wisdom, hinting at her magical knowledge and capabilities.
Notable Feats:
- Helped found Hogwarts and establish magical safeguards still active in the present day.
- Created the Ravenclaw diadem, a legendary artifact said to enhance wisdom.
- Taught some of the greatest wizards and witches of medieval times at Hogwarts.
- Played a pivotal role in establishing the modern magical world of Harry Potter lore.
1. The Emperor Belos (The Owl House)
Ruling over the Boiling Isles, Emperor Belos is the most powerful known witch within Disney’s The Owl House universe. An ancient immortal witch, Belos conquered the Isles centuries ago and banned wild magic to control glyphs and relics. He possesses an extensive arsenal of incredibly powerful spells, including: glyph combos of concentrated elemental magic, oracle magic seeing the future, forcefield generation, summoning armies of the undead, beast transformation, draining magic from others, and petrification. Having lived for centuries and commanding an army of coven heads and guards, Emperor Belos appears nigh unstoppable within the established lore thus far.
Notable Feats:
- Conquered and ruled over the Boiling Isles for centuries.
- Commands multiple powerful forms of magic such as petrification.
- Leads an army of power coven heads like the Emperor’s Coven.
- Drained Eda’s magic and cursed her, one of the show’s strongest witches.
Conclusion
Narrowing down the most powerful witch in all of fiction is an epic challenge. But based on their vast magic arsenals and accomplishments within their fictional settings, these are 10 of the strongest candidates, with Emperor Belos taking the top spot for now. Each possesses enough raw power, spellcasting abilities, arcane knowledge, and remarkable feats to make them stand above the competition thus far in fiction. But new powerful witches continue to emerge, perhaps eventually challenging these established titans of sorcery.