Board Thread:Character Discussion/@comment-5118208-20141108143108/@comment-1894786-20180304023406

Eskaver wrote: Regina was born with magic.

Learning potions is not the same as the hand wave magic. It’s a bit more complicated than genes and a good book. Unless Regina manifested magic in Regina Rising, the first time we see her actually use magic is after she's first met Rumple, when she pushes Cora through the mirror. That doesn't seem like someone who was born with magic, especially when Zelena literally blasted a tree away from her adoptive parents just hours after being born.

Then again, we were repeatedly told Zelena was the "strongest magic user to ever live" during Season 3, so that may have been a show of her strength.