I personally like to look at the way witches and magic are depicted in different books and movies, with different rules and sources of power etc. For example in Bewitched, witches are both female and male (sometimes called warlocks) who possess immense powers, able to alter the world at the flick of a wrist (or twitch of the nose) and a few silly words. Looking at the way female power is represented by Samantha Stevens, we see that it also clearly reflects the issues of the times (late 1950's-1960's). Samantha, a witch of a few hundred years of age, marries Darren, a mortal man who works in advertising. She is seen willingly giving up her powers in order to make Darren happy but also using them in every episode in order get out of a jam. Here we see the issues of women giving up their power to a man and also Darren being played by two completely different people.
Endora provides an interesting voice throughout the show, often scolding Samantha for not using her natural gifts and making fun of Darren for wanted to live a life free of magic. In the show she is also a "separated" woman from her warlock husband and lives a free life doing as she pleases.
Similarly in Bell, Book and Candle we see a witch Gillian, played by Kim Novak, living a free (barefoot) life, reveling in her powers, creating storms and generally doing as she pleases with her witch brother and aunt as supporting characters. The only rule seems to be that if a witch ever truly falls in love they will lose their powers. After a multitude of different mishaps and a cancelled wedding- Gillian realizes she loves Shep and ends up losing her powers and reuniting with him in the end (only after she has lost her powers of course as he spends the entire movie unaware or completely terrified of her). A common theme I've seen in many movies centering on witches is the idea of witches as husband stealers (Bell, Book and Candle, So I Married a Witch, Practical Magic)
(I sit on my couch like this all the time- dont you?)
Looking at Practical Magic, the witches here take on a more quaint and old school feel. Set in a small seaside town (possibly in upstate NY) the Owens witches are more natural, with plants and gardens, and herbs abounding in their victorian home. Even their powers come about in a very natural way (Sally's coffee stirs itself, the aunts turn on appliances just by looking at them), although they do end up raising a zombie back from the dead and releasing a powerful spirit (the protagonist of the story) But also a deeper understanding of nature and magic and also Sally's acceptance of her power is needed in order to save the day, as well as the banding together of a group of women.
Practical Magic does differ from some in that the women in this family are definitely the dominant ones- any man who falls in love with them meets an untimely death due to a long standing family curse (if I had a nickel).
I think you should definitely check out Charmed and Witches of East End. They both deal with witches who don't have to give up powers to be with the person they love. They do have other issues to deal with of course but none of them have to give up their powers. Charmed also goes into some pretty cool interpretations of magic and witchcraft in the later seasons.
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