According to a survey done by the City University of New York, Alabama is 84 percent Protestant, 13 percent Catholic and 3 percent other. A smaller portion of that tiny percentage represents pagans.
DreamScapes, a head shop and novelty store, is sandwiched between Winn-Dixie and Big Blue Bookstore, and offers a wide variety of wares including custom-blended tobacco, hookahs and pagan religious items.
Owner Stephen Bradford opened a similar store, Bio-Buzz, in Albany, Ga., before adding his Auburn location.
Manager Linda Kerr said the store is, as far as she knows, the only place in Lee County that offers the unique items she uses in her religion.
"I'm pagan," Kerr said. "You can't really get good specialty books on spirituality at Hastings or Books-A-Million."
Kerr also believes DreamScapes is one of few places in Lee County that does candle dressings, which is adding oils and herbs to spiritual spell candles.
"It just gives the candles a little extra oomph," said Trillium Meeks, recent Auburn graduate and DreamScapes employee.
Bradford and many of the store's other employees also practice a form of pagan religion and want to offer fellow pagans a place to find necessary items.
"I think this is the only place like this, unless you want to drive to Columbus or Montgomery," Kerr said.
In addition to supplying religious necessities to local pagans, DreamScapes also offers a wide selection of tobacco, much of which is blended specifically for the shop and some of which are named War Eagle, War Damn Eagle, Kraken and 2012.
One of these special blends--Wildman Steve--is named for the owner.
Students of all religious preferences seem to enjoy the shop, despite the heavy focus on alternative religion.
"It's laid-back," Meeks said. "I get to be around friends and people with similar interests."
DreamScapes also features a wide variety of specially blended incenses and houses a hookah lounge in the back of the store.
"Linda said we needed a store like this," said Kass Fowler, DreamScapes employee, "and we have a great eclectic selection here."
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