Embracing the Power of Fire in the Holsbeek Labyrinth
There are places that do not need to announce themselves loudly.
They wait.
They breathe.
They receive.
The labyrinth in Holsbeek is one of those places.
Since 2020, this stone labyrinth was build at the edge of the Chartreuze forest, held by fields, trees, open sky and silence. It lies on a power line, and you can feel that something there is more than landscape. The place has a presence. Not dramatic, not forced, but steady. As if the earth itself has drawn a spiral of attention and invited us to walk it slowly.
We began with forest bathing.
Before entering the labyrinth, we first allowed the forest to soften us. We slowed down. We listened. We opened our senses to the wind in the leaves, the warmth of the sun, the scent of the earth, the movement of our own breath.
Forest bathing is not about doing much. It is about becoming available again. Available to the body. Available to nature. Available to the subtle language that often disappears beneath the noise of daily life. Forestbathing is an Japannees ritual, used for reducing stress and recovering from burnout.
Only after that did we move towards the labyrinth.
The theme of the day was:
"Embrace the Power of Fire".
Fire is often misunderstood as something wild, destructive or dangerous. But fire is also clarity. Fire is life force. Fire is courage, passion, transformation and renewal. It is the inner spark that helps us choose, speak, create, release and begin again.
Walking the labyrinth with this theme invited each of us to meet our own fire differently.
Where had it been hidden?
Where had it been too controlled?
Where was it asking to burn more brightly?
A labyrinth walk is never a straight line, even though it has one clear path. It brings you close to the centre, then away again. It asks patience. It asks trust. It reminds you that transformation rarely happens by force.
We enter, we turn, we pause, we listen.
Step by step, something rearranges inside.
In Holsbeek, surrounded by typical stones for this area who hold the memory of the land, the walk felt both grounding and activating. The fire we were invited to embrace was not a flame outside of us. It was the flame within. The one that knows what is true. The one that keeps returning, even after periods of doubt, fatigue or forgetting.
There was something beautiful in the contrast: the coolness of the forest, the openness of the field, the wind who guided us, the ancient feeling of the stones, and the living warmth of the sun. Before the walk we shared our water. So all nature elements were present. Earth, air, wood, stone and fire all seemed present in their own way.
At the centre of the labyrinth, the invitation became simple:
Stand still.
Feel what is alive.
Receive what is ready.
Leave behind what no longer needs to be carried.
Our next walk will be at the beach.
May the labyrinth energy be with you!
The labyrinth builder was our guide
On this special day, we were given an exclusive guided visit by the forest ranger, who is also the builder of the labyrinth. That made the experience even more intimate. We were not only visiting a place; we were being introduced to it by someone who had listened to the land, carried the stones, shaped the path and understood why. This walk was a very special one. Gert Verbruggen is the local forest keeper and his mission is to connect people with nature again via "landscape art". He build this labyrint in a local stone called Diestiaan.
