Re Bewitched regarding the extent of their powers (time travel - matter reconfiguration - precise mind alteration) it was more like they were a race of Gods than hocus pocus Witches. Prior to Bewitched were any witches in fiction represented as having these kind of godlike power levels?
That’s pretty much what I said in a previous thread (which of course I can’t find- is the search engine buggy?). I made the patially tongue-in-cheek suggestion that the witches/warlocks on Bewitched were really the Q Continum.
I don’t have my copy of the Malleus Malificarum on me right now, so I’m not quite sure what was codified… but from what I’m aware Medieval superstition placed witches as brides of Satan, which allowed them to channel demonic energies. I’d wager that mind control and such wouldn’t have been thought beyond the pale for Satan’s little helpers.
And yet they were arbitrarily limited by beng unable to undo a spell cast by another witch. Seems like one enterprising witch could have cast a spell on, say, the entire universe, and effectively seized ultimate power. Be-witches were also subject to a wide array of bizarre and debilitating illnesses, and their powers faded and became unreliable with age. There was some indication as early as the pilot that different witches had different power levels too. IIRC Samantha tried to teleport Endora out of the hotel room where Darren and she were having their honeymoon but couldn’t do it, but in later episodes Endora was able to teleport other witches against their will.