Ancient Wisdom, Practically Taught
New Moon School is an online school for the esoteric arts. We teach tarot, astrology, numerology, Reiki, the Enneagram and related practices the way we would want to learn them ourselves: properly, step by step, at your own pace, and honestly about what they can and cannot do.
We see these arts as tools for reflection, guidance and insight, not as a way to predict a fixed future. That is how we teach them, and it is how we teach you to read for others: with care, with clear boundaries and with the focus on choices a person can actually make. No psychic gift is needed. Just a real interest and the willingness to practise.
A Recognised Certificate
Pass the final assessment with a score of 80% or more and you can download and print your certificate straight away. Our certification courses are accredited by ICAHP, IPHM, CMA, CPD and NCCAP, accreditations used across the holistic field. They show that a course meets a recognised standard. They are not a university degree or a government licence.
Full of great content and encouragement through audio and PDF's. I have been working with plants for over 40 years and I learnt a new way of looking at being in the forest and inside buildings.
I would recommend this to anyone working with the natural world and wanting to support others in being in it.
Some of the information is presented haphazardly and needs editing. Aside from that it is solid and reflects what other similar courses are offering. Do your own research and extra study to round it out and you're good
(Pros): Overall, I really enjoyed the course. I appreciate the scope, (quality and quantity), of scientific information that it provides, the thoughtful discussions around the spiritual nature of sylvotherapy as well as scientific, the FAQ's and sensitivity given to the recommended responses to them at the end of module 10, and the quick response time to the questions that I submitted. For these reasons, with some provisos, I would highly recommend this course to anyone who has some understanding and experience of forests/plants, or human physiology, (and related or complimentary areas) and wants to deepen their understanding of Forest Therapy and how to use it.
Provisos (Cons): The course uses a vast number of scientific terms when discussing medicinal and therapeutic properties of plants and trees, and their effects on the human body. It would be helpful to have some medical backround or a background in biology to understand these, but given that perhaps many people taking the course will not have this background, perhaps an appendicies at the beginning of the course with a definition of these terms, or at the end of each module, could be provided. This would be very helpul!
In addition, in my opinion, the course is not consistantly well written and some information is either mislabelled, or left me questioning whether it is correct. I found this cause for confusion. See exaamples below:
Example 1: terms that are initially defined as distinct things, later being used interchangeably, like Forest Bathing vs Forest Therapy (Sylvotherapy). Energy and phytoncides at times being used interchangably in some places and as distinct in other places.
Example 2: Incorrect labeling on graphs/charts, as on p. 15 module 6, where Fig. 2 identifies results for " Granzyme A" twice, but as two different values. I'm assuming the second value should be labelled " Granzyme B"?
Example 3: Confusing, possibly incorrect information: on page 11, module 6, under "The Lilac, Poplar and Hawthorn Tree" it says "The volatile phytoncides in lilac, poplar and hawthorn reduce the diameter of blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure and stimulating the cardiovascular system. " Is this correct? When I researched this I consistantly found that the opposite is true. National Institues of Health, Mar. 5, 2026 for example, states that rather than constricting blood vessel diameter, scientific evidence suggests these compounds often act as vasodialators (widening the blood vessels) and lowering blood pressure and improving circulation.
Example 4-the exam: When there can be only one best answer, the wording of each option must be very concise so that there is no confusion about what each option means.
For instance, for the final exam where the question asks the reason behind shinrin yoku, I was looking for an answer that indicated that it was to attract the Japanese into the forest to rediscover the benefits of nature, the beauty of their natural environment, and of their forests. The answer that is said to be the correct one says "to attract Japanese into the forest to rediscover the riches of their country." Riches can be enconomic, domestic, cultural, etc. but my understanding is that it was specifially the natural environment and the forests, that shinrin yoku was wanting to attrack them back to. The wording that is used in the supposedly "best answer," is arguable, given the other options.
Having said all this, I still hold that the course has a lot to offer.:)
The course itself I felt was very informational and well organized; however, the quizzes were all mostly short response questions, and I felt that it could have been mixed up more. Overall, I enjoyed the course and was excited to complete it.
There was a lot of great general knowledge presented in a brief and concise way. There were a few things I felt like were incorrect or moments where better graphics or images would help with understanding, but overall I felt like it was a good introduction to natural building in general.
Completing this course wouldn't give me the confidence to be an instructor without a lot of personal experience. I would recommend going into the wilderness and applying all the skills several times before teaching anyone.
I enjoyed learning all about sylvotherapy, from the history and origin, to the basics of leading sessions. I would say the only thing I wish there was more of would be guiding sessions. I would have loved to learn a bit more about what a session should actually look like. This was included to some degree in the course, but could definitely have benefited from more in-depth examples and explanations. That being said, I feel prepared to start branching out and making use of this certification!
Great course - however, do think the format of how to answer the questions when writing can be written in so many ways, and gives doubt if it is written in the 100% correct format - ei. when looking at the suggested answer, and comparing it to my own, mine are not wrong but just written differently, so makes me doubt if I will succeed the tests based on different possibilitites. Besides that, a good course and thank you.
I really liked this course. I was able to complete it at my own pace, and all of the modules were informative. I appreciated being able to listen to the audio generated for each module. I also appreciated being able to download the written form of each module to keep and reference in the future.
