“And I fortunately know a little magic, it’s a talent that I’ve always possessed.” — Ursula
Witches have always represented more than the supernatural. In film and television, their magic becomes a symbol of femininity and self-determination: women taking charge of their lives and refusing to be defined by anyone else. They can be villains or heroines, but their stories let viewers explore what happens when women hold power in worlds that fear or try to control it. The magic may be supernatural, but the desire for agency is deeply human.
Giving Shows is bringing our Top 25 favorite witches, shamanesses, and voodoo priestesses together for a supernatural duel—and a history lesson. Who still has you under their spell?
The Wicked Witch of the West – The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Power Highlight: Uses storm magic, enchanted objects, and her flying-monkey army to hunt Dorothy.
Glinda – The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Power Highlight: Uses protective magic and magical guidance to help Dorothy find her way home.
Samantha Stephens – Bewitched (1964)
Power Highlight: Her nose twitch can conjure, transform, or move things with a flick of magic.
Endora – Bewitched (1964)
A formidable spellcaster who can transform people and objects—and disrupt mortal life with ease.
Lisa Fortier – Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Power Highlight: A Voodoo priestess who practices ritual magic and is chosen to lead her spiritual community.
Evillene – The Wiz (1978)
Power Highlight: Rules the Winkies through dark magic and terror.
The Grand High Witch – The Witches (1990)
Power Highlight: Uses disguises and a potion to transform children into mice.
Rita Repulsa |Witch Bandora – Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993), Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (1992)
Power Highlight: Casts spells, creates monsters, and uses her wand to make them grow. Her character draws on footage of Witch Bandora.
Nancy Downs – The Craft (1996)
Power Highlight: Her spellwork grows into telekinesis, weather control, and dangerous acts of revenge
Sabrina Spellman – Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996)
Power Highlight: Uses everyday spellcraft for transformations, teleportation, and comic mishaps.
Willow Rosenberg – Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997)
Power Highlight: Develops from beginner spells to powerful magic, including telekinesis and resurrection.
Alti – Xena: Warrior Princess (first appearance, 1998)
Power Highlight: A dark shamaness who attacks souls and uses visions and spirit magic against Xena and The Amazons.
Prue Halliwell – Charmed (1998)
Power Highlight: channels telekinesis through her eyes and hands, and later develops astral projection, allowing her to be in two places at once.
Jadis, the White Witch – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
Power Highlight: Uses winter magic and a wand that can turn her enemies to stone.
Papa Justify and Mama Cecile – The Skeleton Key (2005)
Power Highlight: Hoodoo practitioners who use a conjure ritual to transfer souls between bodies.
The Bennett Witches – Bonnie, Grams, Emily, and Abby – The Vampire Diaries (2009)
Power Highlight: Draw on ancestral magic, channel spirits, and cast powerful spells across generations.
Melisandre: The Red Woman – Game of Thrones (2011)
Power Highlight: A priestess of R’hllor, she reads visions in flames, conjures deadly shadows, and can resurrect the dead.
Fiona Goode – American Horror Story: Coven (2013)
Power Highlight: As the Supreme, she wields exceptional power across the Seven Wonders, including telekinesis and healing magic.
Marie Laveau – American Horror Story: Coven (2013)
Power Highlight: Uses ritual magic and spirit work as a powerful Voodoo queen.
Sabrina Spellman – Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)
Power Highlight: Uses dark spellcraft, necromancy, and infernal magic.
Macy Vaughn – Charmed (2018)
Power Highlight: Combines witchcraft with demon-enhanced powers, including telekinesis and pyrokinesis.
Agatha Harkness – WandaVision (2021)
Power Highlight: A skilled witch who can siphon other witches’ magic and wield complex spells.
Scarlet Witch (Wanda Maximoff) – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Power Highlight: Her chaos magic lets her cast powerful spells and alter reality.
Rowan Fielding / Rowan Mayfair – Mayfair Witches (2023)
Power Highlight: Her inherited power can heal or harm, with telekinetic force that grows increasingly dangerous.
Elphaba – Wicked (2024)
Power Highlight: Her extraordinary spellcasting lets her levitate, fly, and challenge the authority of Oz.
