First published online Feb 20, 2015.
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
Raven has displayed many powers throughout the Teen Titans cartoon, though most are left unexplained and up for some interpretation which causes trying to list them all without making assumptions to become a challenge. This is my attempt at completing that list, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've missed some details. I've broken it down into five parts, with the last three explaining all her specific powers: powers she's seen commonly using, powers she's only seen using a few times at most, and special abilities that aren't exactly "powers". I've also broken the parts down into four separate posts because otherwise it would run rather long. As a final introductory note, I noticed that in the episode "Go!", Beast Boy comments on Raven's shadowy, black bubble-like creation, calling it "dark-energy". I'll adopt that term here to describe such shadowy substances.
PART TWO: RAVEN'S POWERS IN GENERAL
Often, Raven's hands (or hand) and/or eyes will glow with a dark-energy look when she's about to use (or is already using) a power, but this is not always the case. Similarly, she will often recite "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" when preparing to attack, but not always. With further inspection, it appears somewhat evident that Raven saying "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" is simply a method she uses to help herself find her "center"; This “center” is a place inside her where her very essence is located, and finding it helps her regain calmness and focus. When Raven and Starfire switch powers in the episode "Switched", Raven has a hard time managing to adapt, and so tells Starfire, "If I can't fly, you have to levitate. You know those words I always--" Starfire interrupts, but Raven counters, "Wait, you have to focus!" later that same episode, Raven instructs her on how to use her telekinesis, "Find your center. Focus your energy..." Again, saying "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" seems to merely be about finding her center and not an actual incantation -- though it shouldn't be ignored that some spells she uses throughout the series do contain "Azarath Metrion Zinthos", so any magickal property shouldn't be completely ruled out. "Teen Titans" developer, writer, and producer David Slack said in a November 2005 interview for Titanstower.com that "Whenever Raven was in trouble, she called on the power of Azarath", but this can be interpreted multiple ways.
Both Raven's eyes and hands glowing while using her powers. Episode: Deception
Only Raven's hand glowing while using her powers. Episode: Aftershock (Part I)
Only Raven's eyes glowing while using her powers. Episode: Divide and Conquer
Neither Raven's hands nor eyes glowing while using her powers. Episode: Snowblind
Raven meditating somewhere within her mind, possibly her center. Episode: Switched
In the episode "Switched", Raven says, "My powers are driven by emotion. The more you feel, the more energy you unleash." In the same episode, she also says, "my emotions are dangerous -- I can't afford to feel anything." Seeing as how her emotions so highly influence her powers, it's no wonder she's careful to learn to control her emotions, even in dire and intense moments. In the episode "Titan Rising", Raven states, "I have to meditate every day to keep my powers under control." To try accomplishing this, she partakes in multiple techniques, including the use of a mantra ("Azarath Metrion Zinthos"), a mirror that acts as a portal into her mind, and likely candles as well as a chakra based system. In the episode "Switched", when instructing Starfire in one way to meditate, she hovers midair in a cross-legged sitting position, raises her hands in a particular gesture, closes her eyes, and begins, "Find your center, focus your energies, and... Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion--"
Starfire joining Raven in meditation as they both utilize her mantra "Azarath Metrion Zinthos". Episode: Switched
A meditation tool of Raven's -- a mirror. Episode: Nevermore
The gemstone on Raven's ajna chakra glowing. Episode: The Prophecy
Raven meditating with candles. Episode: Episode 257-494
In the episode "The End (Part III)", Raven gets reduced to only a remnant of herself, and when Robin says he came for her, she says, "I can't help. My powers came from him [Trigon, her father], and now that he's done with me, I don't have them anymore." This would lead one to believe that Trigon is the source of her powers who gets to decide whether she gets to use them or not, but later in the episode she finds she still does have power, and even after destroying Trigon she shows she obviously still has full use of her powers. Thus, we'll assume this quote reflects either a belief that Raven wrongly held (which almost worked via a placebo effect of sorts, based on the loss of hope) or something else that contains more than it does on the surface.
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