Desperately Seeking Something
Encyclopedia
Desperately Seeking Something is a British television series first broadcast on 6 November 1995, presented by travel writer and presenter Pete McCarthy
. In it, McCarthy looked at various spiritual practices from across the globe, and meeting their practitioners. It ran for three series. The third series involved him looking at world traditional beliefs like Australian Aboriginal beliefs and Hawaiian religion
. The second season looked more at Christian and Pagan sects, including the Fellowship of Isis
and the Golden Dawn
.
Before going on what would be referred to as a "spiritual journey", McCarthy said "I've taken on the role of everyman, I'm like lots of people who have given up religion and never replaced it with anything else."
Pete McCarthy
Pete McCarthy , was a British broadcaster and successful travel writer, noted for his books McCarthy's Bar and The Road to McCarthy.-Biography:...
. In it, McCarthy looked at various spiritual practices from across the globe, and meeting their practitioners. It ran for three series. The third series involved him looking at world traditional beliefs like Australian Aboriginal beliefs and Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion
Hawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is unrelated to, though commonly confused with, the philosophy of Huna....
. The second season looked more at Christian and Pagan sects, including the Fellowship of Isis
Fellowship of Isis
The Fellowship of Isis is an international spiritual organization devoted to promoting awareness of the Goddess. It is dedicated specifically to the Egyptian goddess Isis because the FOI co-founders believed Isis best represented the energies of the dawning Aquarian Age...
and the Golden Dawn
Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn
The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
.
Before going on what would be referred to as a "spiritual journey", McCarthy said "I've taken on the role of everyman, I'm like lots of people who have given up religion and never replaced it with anything else."
Series One
- Episode 2 - Witches Hunt
- Episode 3 - The Warrior Within - McCarthy at the Spirit Horse Camp in Wales
- Episode 4 - Order & Chaos
Series Two
- The Wicca Man : In the first episode, McCarthy encountered acupunctureAcupunctureAcupuncture is a type of alternative medicine that treats patients by insertion and manipulation of solid, generally thin needles in the body....
, before going through "the crowning ceremony" with a woman in GlastonburyGlastonburyGlastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
to unlock his DNA from extraterrestrial control. Finally he joined Vivianne CrowleyVivianne CrowleyVivianne Crowley is an author, university lecturer, psychologist, and a High Priestess and teacher of the Wiccan religion. She was initiated into the London coven of Alex Sanders at the age of eighteen, but later joined a Gardnerian coven...
's coven of WiccaWiccaWicca , is a modern Pagan religious movement. Developing in England in the first half of the 20th century, Wicca was popularised in the 1950s and early 1960s by a Wiccan High Priest named Gerald Gardner, who at the time called it the "witch cult" and "witchcraft," and its adherents "the Wica."...
ns in WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
for their Midsummer festivities. - Safe Sects : In the second episode, McCarthy meets a group of Qabalists in TintagelTintagelTintagel is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The population of the parish is 1,820 people, and the area of the parish is ....
, CornwallCornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, before being healed by a New AgeNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
suburban shaman. He then met Bob StuartBob StuartRobert Charles "Bob" Stuart was one of the most well known and admired sportsman in New Zealand. He was given a lifetime service award by the International Rugby Board immediately after the World Cup in 2003.-Career:...
to discuss whether fairies really exist. He then met with Emma Restall OrrEmma Restall OrrEmma Restall Orr is a British neo-druid, animist, priest, poet and author . She worked for the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids in the early 1990s, becoming an Ovate tutor. In 1993 she became joint chief of the British Druid Order staying until 2002...
and other Druids from the Order of Bards, Ovates and DruidsOrder of Bards, Ovates and DruidsThe Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids or OBOD is a Neo-Druidic organisation based in England, but based in part on the Welsh Gorsedd of Bards...
, who took him to Wayland's SmithyWayland's SmithyWayland's Smithy is a Neolithic long barrow and chamber tomb site located near the Uffington White Horse and Uffington Castle, at Ashbury in the English county of Oxfordshire ....
to leave an offering to the ancestors, and then initiated him into Druidry at Abbots Wood. Finally he visited a GlastonburyGlastonburyGlastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...
-based spiritual healer callef Geoff who made oil appear in Pete's hands. - Across the Sea to Isis : In episode three, McCarthy travelled to IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to visit Clonegal Castle, the headquarters of the Fellowship of IsisFellowship of IsisThe Fellowship of Isis is an international spiritual organization devoted to promoting awareness of the Goddess. It is dedicated specifically to the Egyptian goddess Isis because the FOI co-founders believed Isis best represented the energies of the dawning Aquarian Age...
where he was initiated into the Druid Order of DanaDana-Singers:Some singers are popularly known only by the name, Dana:* Dana Rosemary Scallon , Irish-American singer and politician* Dana , Korean pop singer* Dana International , Israeli pop singer-In fiction:...
. Staying in Ireland, he met with some people who feel a spiritual connection to the country, tries using dowsing rods and then met a group of Roman Catholic priests who believe in connecting to their Celtic paganCeltic polytheismCeltic polytheism, commonly known as Celtic paganism, refers to the religious beliefs and practices adhered to by the Iron Age peoples of Western Europe now known as the Celts, roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE, spanning the La Tène period and the Roman era, and in the case of the Insular Celts...
roots. - Pan's People : In episode four, Pete met Ivan McBeth who believes that stones are alive and who builds stone circles a form of healing acupuncture for the planet; joined the Golden DawnHermetic Order of the Golden DawnThe Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn was a magical order active in Great Britain during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which practiced theurgy and spiritual development...
Occult Society in a trance at the ancient burial chamber of West Kennet Longbarrow in Wiltshire; and then visited the Island of Arran which Tibetan mystic Lama Yeshe hoped will become the planet's spiritual interface.
Series Three
- McCarthy went to AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and stayed in the OutbackOutbackThe Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia, term colloquially can refer to any lands outside the main urban areas. The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush".-Overview:The outback is home to a...
with some Aborigines where they discussed their traditional religion. - McCarthy meets with Odinists.
- McCarthy meets with people who believe that JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
came from the planet VenusVenusVenus is the second planet from the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6, bright enough to cast shadows...
. - In the final episode of the first series, McCarthy went to HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, USA, where he explored both Hawaiian religionHawaiian religionHawaiian religion is the term used to describe the folk religious beliefs and practises of the Hawaiian people. It is unrelated to, though commonly confused with, the philosophy of Huna....
(which he commented on as being the religion he'd most like to join), along with modern New AgeNew AgeThe New Age movement is a Western spiritual movement that developed in the second half of the 20th century. Its central precepts have been described as "drawing on both Eastern and Western spiritual and metaphysical traditions and then infusing them with influences from self-help and motivational...
practises on the island.