It’s getting close to Halloween! If it’s one thing I associate Halloween with, it is magic. I especially love female magic users because they tend to have more interesting powers and personalities. In honor of Halloween and my love of magic characters, here are five of my favorite female magic users in pop culture.

1. Hermione Granger

As someone who grew up reading the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger will always be one of my favorite characters. She was smart enough to save her friends numerous times and is a book and library lover after my own heart.

A modern interpretation of the character that I love is in the web series Hermione Granger & The Quarter Life Crisis. Created by Eliyannah Amirah Yisrael, the series follows a disillusioned 25 year old Hermione (Ashley Romans) living in Los Angeles. It’s a fun, mature take on the character that is relatable to any twenty-something that needs a little magic in their life.

2. Raven

Raven is a half-demon and half human empath and a member of the DC Comics superhero team Teen Titans. I’m especially a fan of the animated version of the character from the Cartoon Network series. I’ve found her character relatable because she often literally fights her own inner demons as a superhero.

3. Nico Minoru

Nico Minoru is one of the main protagonists of Marvel Comics’ Runaways. Despite being the daughter of two supervillian dark mages, she mananges to become an unconventional teen superhero who tries to make up for the evil actions of her parents.

Nico’s powers are interesting because they come from not only her family, but also from The Staff of One. When she sheds blood, the staff appears and Nico can use it to cast spells. The only catch is, the spell will only work once. As a result, Nico has to be careful about what words she uses so she doesn’t waste any spells.

4. Ashake

Ashake is an Egyptian sorceress who serves under the Goddess Ma’at. She is also the ancestor of Ororo Munroe, Storm of the X-Men. She was first featured in the New Mutants X-Men comics, but also got a modern retelling in the comic Mystic Arcana.

In fact, it was Mystic Arcana that caused me to discover her character. I loved how she ended up being a part of Storm’s ancestry and ended up teaming up with Magik (another magic user and member of the X-Men). She also helps the magic users Morgan Le Fay, Llyra, and Ian McNee defeat the ancient demon Chthon.

5. Lina Inverse

Lina Inverse is a powerful sorceress and the main protagonist of the anime series Slayers. Slayers is 90’s sword and sorcery anime series about a group of travelers going on adventures and occasionally saving the world. It’s a fun, lighthearted comedy adventure I discovered a few months ago via Funimation’s YouTube channel.

Lina Inverse can cast cool spells like fireballs, energy blasts, and the most powerful spell, the Dragon Slave. Although she’s not the most noble hero, her spunky attitude makes her an entertaining character.