Beatrice is a 17-year-old girl who seeks an unconventional life in New York City after spending years in a predictable, quiet town. She secures a shopgirl position at Tea and Sympathy, completely unaware that her new employers practice magic. Possessing a natural curiosity for anomalies, she begins to experience inexplicable events after constructing a charm called a witch's ladder. She exhibits a unique ability to communicate with spirits without needing formal rituals.

Eleanor is a gifted herbalist who runs the women-exclusive tea shop, Tea and Sympathy, alongside her close friend. Descended from a line of French witches, she cautiously hides her magical abilities while providing tonics, teas, and safe counsel to a select female clientele. She relies on her mother's surviving grimoire for guidance and keeps a watchful eye on her new shopgirl.

Adelaide is a bold and perceptive fortune-teller who operates Tea and Sympathy with Eleanor. Having survived a traumatic childhood and a vicious physical attack that left her with a severe facial scar and a missing eye, she maintains a guarded exterior. She prefers using a physical deck of fortune-telling cards over relying on her innate, inherited foresight.

Reverend Townsend is a zealous preacher who views himself as a devout soldier of God tasked with purging New York City of sin. He harbors intense misogynistic beliefs and specifically targets women he suspects of practicing witchcraft or deviancy. His rigid religious doctrines lead him to justify severe violence against those who do not conform to his moral ideals.

Quinn is an alienist (psychiatrist) and former military assistant surgeon who relocates to New York to manage his late father's estate. Having lost an arm in the war, he utilizes carefully measured doses of opium to manage his phantom limb pain and trauma. His scientific background merges with a deep curiosity about the paranormal and spiritualism.

Gideon is a wealthy architect responsible for bringing the massive obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle to New York City. He maintains a polished public image while harboring a deep, ancient hatred for witches. He operates largely from the shadows, employing subordinates to monitor magical activity in the city.

The Collectors are two mysterious, ghoul-like men in black suits who appear at the scenes of unusual or witch-related deaths. They act as loyal subordinates to Gideon Palsham, securing bodies and magical items for his private purposes without drawing police attention.

Delphine is Eleanor's deceased mother and a powerful immigrant witch from France. She left behind a comprehensive grimoire filled with magical instructions and family history, acting as a spiritual guide for the next generation of practitioners. Her knowledge forms the foundation of Eleanor's tea shop practices.

A former slum-house mystic who exploited and trafficked Adelaide during her childhood. She now exists as a ghost, lingering in the hopes of communicating with her estranged daughter to make amends for her past abuses. She frequently makes pacts with other supernatural entities to influence the living.

Lena is a widow who takes a position as a live-in maid for Mr. Beadle. After creating a fake witchcraft display to prank her employer, she faces severe consequences from religious zealots who mistake her harmless actions for demonic possession. She speaks Scottish Gaelic, which further alienates her from her captors.

Judith is a devoted friend and frequent affluent client of Adelaide at the tea shop. She carries profound grief following the death of her young son, Billy, and frequently seeks comfort and connection through Adelaide's fortune-telling talents. She acts as a social matchmaker, introducing Dr. Brody to the shop owners.

Billy is the young, deceased son of Judith and Alden Dashley. He exists as a spirit tethered to his mother's grief, wishing only to bring her peace and assure her that he is safe in the afterlife.

Lucy is Eleanor's former lover who is now married to a wealthy, prominent man. She discreetly returns to the tea shop seeking Eleanor's herbal remedies and counsel regarding a complicated pregnancy, torn between her marital obligations and her personal desires.

Cecil is Lucy's wealthy husband. He holds hostile and vengeful intentions toward the owners of Tea and Sympathy after discovering his wife's past romantic associations and secret visits to the shop. He uses his financial power to intimidate those he considers a threat to his marriage.

Perdu is Eleanor's ring-bearing raven familiar. He keeps a watchful eye over Eleanor and attempts to communicate impending dangers through a shared dreamscape. Though his true ancient identity has been lost to time, he remains fiercely loyal to the St. Clair witches.

Bright is one of the Dearlies, an ancient, fairy-like entity tasked with crafting and delivering dreams to humanity. Bright works proactively to send cautionary visions to witches, preparing them for upcoming dangers and guiding their magical development.

Twitch is the second of the Dearlies, operating alongside Bright to fashion dreams. Twitch assists in guiding the mortal characters through subconscious warnings, utilizing ancient magic to intervene in the human world without directly breaking the rules of their kind.

Bartholomew is an old friend of Dr. Brody, having recovered alongside him in a military hospital during the Civil War. He holds a persistent, somewhat inappropriate interest in the female patients at the Blackwell's Island psychiatric ward, seeking entertainment in their confinement.

Sophie is an incarcerated patient at the psychiatric ward on Blackwell's Island. She harbors intense animosity toward Adelaide and is responsible for the devastating vitriol attack that scarred Adelaide's face years ago. She spends her confinement planning her escape.

Mr. Beadle is a frightened employer who misinterprets his maid Lena's prank as genuine witchcraft. He quickly betrays her to local religious authorities out of self-preservation and prejudice, refusing to take responsibility for her subsequent fate.

Jenny is a young sex worker operating in the city. She tries to secure enough income to support her roommates, making her vulnerable to dangerous men on the streets. Her desperate circumstances place her directly in the path of the city's moral crusaders.

Elsie is a sex worker and roommate to Jenny Greene. She shares the daily risks of working in New York's underbelly, representing the vulnerable community of women forced to survive outside societal norms.

Sister Piddock is a stern, devout woman who works closely with Reverend Townsend. She assists in organizing church functions and shares his absolute intolerance for perceived immorality, frequently harassing women she deems improper.

Joseph is a friendly acquaintance from Stony Point who helps Beatrice secure transport into New York City on a freight train when the passenger lines are closed. He recognizes that Beatrice is destined for a life beyond their small town.

Lydia is Beatrice's widowed aunt who raised her in Stony Point following the deaths of Beatrice's parents from smallpox. She represents the safe, predictable domestic life that Beatrice desperately wishes to escape.

Georgina is a resourceful woman at the Police Headquarters who understands how to manipulate the indifferent bureaucracy. She uses bribery to secure police assistance and offers her practical help to those the officers dismiss.

Dr. Pitkin is an alienist working at the psychiatric ward on Blackwell's Island. He provides Dr. Brody with institutional files and updates regarding the female patients in his care.

The Marys are a collective of ghosts representing several young women who perished in a tragic fire at the Fifth Avenue Hotel eight years prior. They linger in the building, growing increasingly volatile and angry at being misremembered by the hotel's management.