Dawn Kloofterman is a witch, and proud of it

Dawn Kloofterman, in full with's regalia, says she's looking forward to celebrating one of the major pagan holiday beginning at sunset tonight. (Harrison Thorp photos)

ROCHESTER - Tonight, at sunset, when all the little ghouls and goblins are beginning to darken your door looking for a morsel of chocolate, Dawn Kloofterman will begin the celebration of Samhain (pronounced sowoun).

Kloofterman is a witch, a good witch, she adds.

She said she didn’t begin practicing witchcraft until her late 20s, but even as a child knew in her heart an alternative lifestyle would be her destiny.

“All my life I knew I was different,” she said. “I was an only child. I liked to catch frogs in the frog pond; I was always different. I wanted to be outside in the water.”

Samhain is a major holiday, called a Sabbat, for witches, signaling the start of the “dark time.” It falls about halfway between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

 “It is like our New Years,” she said.

The winter solstice signals the beginning of the “light time” as days finally begin to lengthen rather than diminish.

In fact, all the holidays of witchdom are cyclic and nature oriented, she said.

Kloofterman, 48, of Rochester, said a good witch’s mantra is to “Do what you will but it harms none.”

She said she doesn’t cast spells except on herself.

“I’ll cast a spell on myself, if I need some money or a job,” she said. She said it often works.

She said she would never cast a bad spell.

“We believe strongly in karma and you know what happens when you do bad things,” she said. “They come back on you.”

Dawn Kloofterman, and her husband, Andridf, who is also a witch.

While Kloofterman has many friends who worship and celebrate their pagan life and rituals in covens, or families, she and her husband, Andridf, who is also a witch, are lone practitioners.

“We’ll get together with them occasionally, but mostly we’re on our own,” she said.

For Kloofterman, much of her love of witchcraft revolves around her love of nature. She also follows a holistic approach to medicine and health and is a certified reiki one practitioner.  

She and her husband follow a pagan lifestyle, honoring a whole host of various gods and goddesses.

Her favorite goddess is Gaia, goddess of mother earth; her favorite god is Tan, god of the wild hunt.

She doesn’t care too much for the candy part of modern trick-or-treating, but says many aspects of Halloween are valid. She thinks the spirits of souls from the past do wander and that there’s nothing wrong with having a scary jack-o-lantern at your door to keep away the evil spirits who might trifle with you and yours.

She said she celebrates Halloween with friends, perhaps dressing up in her witch garb and going to a scary movie.

She’ll have something else to celebrate tomorrow as Samhain winds down.

She and Andridf were married last Nov. 1.