Kambo, The Frog Prince: A Healing Story
The week before I had my first cycle of Kambo (an inoculation is 3 ceremonies with Kambo within one moon cycle), this divine frog visited me in my dreams. “I’ll teach you to breathe underwater,” he told me. “I’ll help you feel safe anywhere in the multiverse.”
Lo and behold, he kept his word.
Kambo is an incredible gift from nature; it is essentially venom extracted from the Giant Monkey Frog, an Amazonian creature that has this exterior coating as a mode of defense. Kambo medicine is applied through superficial burns (points) applied to a huge variety of places on human skin. It access the lymphatic system, and has such a vast array of medicinal and spiritual benefits, it’s impossible to really give this medicine justice in one single article. Much has been written about the massive benefits of working with Kambo; in this vulnerable outpouring, I wish only to share my sincere story of mind-blowing healing. This little Froggie changed my life, and I am so honored to sing his praises.
A Kambo Inoculation
I had been aware of Kambo’s medicine for many years before I felt the calling to work with him. I was waiting to connect with a facilitator that I felt comfortable with, as I knew I wanted to go big with Froggy and experience the full capacity of his potency. That arrived in the most poetic way. I reconnected a handful of years ago with the first paying client I had in my integration practice. She had recently completed her Kambo facilitator training with the KAC, and I knew I had found my guide. I was her first paying Kambo client; doesn’t get much more magical and synchronistic than that!
I opted to take on a full inoculation rather than a single ceremony. As a facilitator with Ayahuasca, I know her magic is best experienced in a cycle, which is typically 3 ceremonies within a week’s time frame. I wanted to give the Frog Prince the same attention and respect. Although it’s completely acceptable to do an inoculation over the span of 28 days, I chose to do 3 in a row, over the span of 3 days. It’s an intense and all-in way to connect with him, which was precisely the goal.
I approached the inoculation with two core intentions:
1) I had dealt with intense pain in the lymph nodes around my ears and jaw for many years, and every doctor I ever saw about it brushed it off as “nothing”. One incompetent ENT actually told me my issue was “eating and talking too much.” (Not an unfair assessment but definitely not the cause of my pain.) I remained unvalidated, and at times, completely miserable. Since Kambo moves through the lymphatic system, I had the tiniest hope that perhaps he could assist.
2) I wanted to know him, intimately. His medicine, potency, love, body-connectedness. Whatever he had to offer, I was ready to gratefully received.
Night one was our first date. We started with a single point to test my sensitivity, then moved on to 5 total points of medicine. I chose to receive the entire three days of points on my left ankle; we were creating the image of a dragonfly (my spirit insect).
The first date was absolutely divine. If you’ve never experienced Kambo’s medicine, he feels like an intelligent force of fire, riding up and down the body’s meridian lines and looking for dis-ease and/or blockages. The sensation is like the mother of all hot flashes; the heart speeds up rapidly as he scans, then slows down and relaxes as he moves energy. There is no corner in us, no cellular location inside that Kambo can’t access.
In this first experience, I felt his incredible intelligence, and had a good hard purge towards the end of the 30 minute or so journey. The hardest part was the consumption of water; this particular lineage encourages about 2 full liters of water so that when the deep, hard purge comes (which it often does), one is not dry heaving, but flushing out the toxins in our systems. I was so grateful when my body finally let go and utilized that precious bucket. The goal is often to get down to purging bile, but this time all I did was release some more superficial fluids. Still, it felt absolutely wonderful.
I could also distinctly notice his anti-inflammatory effects, and the rush of peptides that diminished a good majority pain and discomfort in my body. Suffice to say my first dance with this potent and divine medicine left me highly intrigued, energized, and positively thrilled at the chance to go deeper.
Humbled by Kambo
My second session was similar to the first, but with two more dots/entry points, so the effects where stronger and more pronounced. I could feel the build-up to the third big experience, however, and I went into the final session with a lot of intimidation. Kambo had flirted with me in the first two rounds, and I knew intuitively that he would show himself more in our final dance.
Kambo is often referred to as “warrior medicine”, in part because he helps us to find a profound inner strength and ability to ride the waves of intensity he creates. The more dots / entry points one does, the more potent he typically is (although that is not a steadfast rule). Where the entry points are placed also matters greatly. Aligning them along the spine / chakras, as an example, can be one of the most intense experiences, even with only a few dots. The ears are also quite intense (my personal favorite).
My third experience with Kambo is the one where I officially met him. We did 9 total entry points, and I was brought to my mother f’ing knees. Since it was applied on my ankle, this is not a traditionally intense location, but the amount of medicine that coursed through me was so substantial, it mattered not how he merged with me, only that he was large and very in charge.
It took mere seconds after the medicine was applied for my body to launch. The rapid heart rate is wildly intense; I started sweating profusely and felt the purge start to build. The fire Kambo ignited in my body was almost more than I could move through. I had drank in hundreds and hundreds of Ayahuasca and Huachuma ceremonies, but Kambo was finding an edge I didn’t know I had. This was a physical edge, a distrust of my own body, and every breath felt like something I had to fight for. Froggie was going in for a knockout.
It is quite common for people to pass out with Kambo (one of the many reasons it’s imperative to sit with a trained practitioner), and I felt this temptation about 10 minutes into my session. Tunnel vision took hold, and the music started fading in and out as I tried desperately to catch my breath and stop the room from spinning. The heat energy in my body was a volcano – I could feel the redness rising through every limp, every pore. My face swelled up and the urge to scream was almost impossible to suppress.
I wanted to tap out. I knew the moment my facilitator took off the medicine, I would get some relief. But that’s not what I came for.
I put my forehead on the carpeted floor and internally begged my frog friend to show me mercy. About that time, my fearless leader helped me sit up and insisted I drink more water. I will admit I considered physical assault instead of water chugging, but I just didn’t have the energy. I followed instructions.
Then came the purge.
Now I’ve had many a purge in the throes of Mama Ayahuasca. But nothing beats a full throttle dose of Kambo coupled with the gift of a massive, gut-wrenching, from-the-core-my-being release. Kambo facilitators will tell you the color, density, and overall vibration of the purge says a lot about what the client is letting go of. Oddly enough, this particular purge was damn near clear, but it was from the depths of my being, and I kept at it until it felt as if every cell in my body had just been purified. I felt like an amphibian myself, breathing above and below the surface of the water, letting the waves wash over me.
I purged MDMA abuse from my 20s. I purged heartbreak and fear. I purged a little of my childhood trauma. What an absolute blessing to just let all that shit go.
A handful of minutes after I finished my retching, just when I felt I couldn’t take any more intensity, my trusted guide came and removed the medicine. I didn’t tap out. I rode the wave.
I felt amazing.
The Incredible Kambo Aftermath
It wasn’t until the day after my third and final ceremony that I really got to acknowledge how healing Kambo had been for every part of my being. The most notable after effects of Kambo for me were as follows:
· Energy levels: Once I recovered from the intense process with some deep rest, I was so full of vitality and life force. Glorious!
· No pain: The minor aches and pains I often feel in my body were all completely gone.
· Eyesight: I felt like I could see the world in a more vibrant way; the aliveness of the colors and the energy of all things.
· Mood: I felt on top of the world; immensely empowered, proud of myself, and full of confidence. Warrior medicine shows us who we really are!
· Menstruation: The inoculation was a reset for my reproductive system and my moon cycles became more regular and painless again.
· Lymph nodes: The thing I most hoped would happen did actually transpire! My swollen lymphs subsided and my ears felt much more open – Kambo gets the meridian lines inside of us flowing more freely. This was an absolute miracle to me as I could not remember a time in my adult life where this pressure and pain was COMPLETELY gone.
The actual after effects and the length of time they are experienced varies greatly from person to person, but it isn’t unusual at all to hear stories of incredible healing and relief. I am beyond ecstatic to be one of the many Kambo success stories.
Work with Kambo Safely
Clearly I’m a fan of frog medicine, but I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to work with an accredited and trained practitioner if you choose to merge with this master amphibian. Kambo is an intense process, and should never be embarked on solo, or with someone who doesn’t understand the potency and potentiality of the medicine. Please also make sure your facilitator is incredibly discerning about who they source the Kambo medicine from, as there are questionable practices to extract the venom that can cause harm and even death to the frogs. So please only support folks that in turn support the safety of these magical beings.
Kambo is legal in most areas of the United States, and in many countries around the world, but check your local laws and regulations to ensure your freedom is safe as well. Thankfully, most places allow access to frog medicine without legal repercussions; a rarity with natural medicines, so enjoy this immensely!
Finally, note that while Kambo is not technically a psychedelic medicine, he is a very powerful altered experience. There are a lot of physical and emotional requirements to guarantee a safe experience with Froggie, so make sure to disclose your medical history, pharmaceuticals and supplements, and mental/emotional history to your facilitator as well. Anything that has the power to heal our deepest illnesses and wounds can also cause harm when not used with caution.
No go forth and experience the magic and wonder of Kambo! Drop a comment below if you, too, have a miraculous healing story to share :)
About the Author
Tina “Kat” Courtney is an 18 year veteran of Plant Medicines, and a traditionally trained Ayahuasquera and Huachumera, + the author of Plant Medicine Mystery School Vol 1: The Superhero Healing Powers of Psychotropic Plants. Kat is a pioneer in the Psychedelic Integration space, as well as an expert in cultivating life-changing relationships with plant spirits. She leads Master Plant Diets both in person and remotely, and is available for coaching and consult about this in all shamanic topics. Kat is also a certified Death Doula honored to help people make peace with the inevitable and beautiful transition into the afterlife. She has spent her adult life cultivating a bonded and trusting relationship with the darkness, and she’d love to help you do the same.
