There isn’t a big library on 5-MeO-DMT, and the books that do exist range from careful and wise to genuinely concerning. People often ask me what they should read before a ceremony, so here are detailed, chapter-by-chapter summaries of the main ones.
They’re grouped two ways. History and First-hand Account are books I’d recommend for understanding where this medicine comes from and what people have experienced with it. Read Critically covers widely read books whose authors have serious questions around their practices. Those summaries include notes on each author’s reputation, drawn from published sources, because I think that’s what you’d want to know before trusting their advice.
A few things hold true across all of them. The “ancient toad tradition” turns out to be modern. Careful screening and a calm, sober guide matter more than any theory. And no book can prepare you for the experience itself. Every summary leaves out dosing and preparation details on purpose.
If you’re considering a ceremony, start with Safety & Screening and How to Choose a Facilitator.
Almost every modern toad ceremony traces back to a short pamphlet written for a college class in 1983. Here's what it says, who really wrote it, and what he came to want for the toad.
Psychologist Ralph Metzner's short field report on thirty years of underground 5-MeO-DMT circles: what people experienced, what went wrong, the safety practices that grew out of it, and the origin of the name "Jaguar."
A self-described hardened atheist smokes 5-MeO-DMT in 2003 and spends six years trying to explain what happened. A vivid, influential and very uneven book, summarized chapter by chapter.
The book by the man who did more than anyone to popularize toad ceremonies. Summarized chapter by chapter, with what it claims about healing and Seri tradition, what it admits, and what has since been reported about its author.
Kimon de Greef investigates how 5-MeO-DMT from the Sonoran Desert toad became a global psychedelic phenomenon. Following the charismatic Mexican doctor Octavio Rettig, Seri communities, toad collectors and biotech companies, the book asks what happens when profound experiences become entangled with ego, money, power and cultural appropriation.
A memoir by one of the most prominent early toad-ceremony providers. Summarized chapter by chapter, with what the book itself claims, what it contradicts, and the serious public allegations against its author.
A toad-ceremony manual from one of the practice's best-known early providers. Some of its safety points are sound, but much of it contradicts itself, and its author faces serious public allegations.
Martin Ball's most complete account of his "nondual energetic therapy" with 5-MeO-DMT. Some of its ideas are thoughtful. Its hands-on session methods, described in his own words, are a serious concern.
Martin Ball's collected essays on DMT, 5-MeO-DMT and nonduality, from 2008 to 2020. Sharp critiques of psychedelic myth-making sit beside sweeping claims and a session method that raises real concerns.
Curious what this medicine is like in a careful, ceremonial setting? I offer private 1:1 ceremonies and Inward, a low-dose sound bath, in Victoria, BC.