Analysis for Katts, 23 November 1998

This is how you described the room:

There are shelves on the walls. There is a double bed with a flowered bedspread. The shelves have all manner of knick-knacks, music boxes, dolls, etc. The walls are painted purple. The room is chilly.

The initial room is the subject’s childhood. What interests us here is the general atmosphere of the room, in addition to the level of furnishings described by the subject. An uncomfortable room suggests a childhood that was devoid of happiness. The depth of description tells us that the subject has strong memories of childhood.

You wanted to leave the room.

The subject wanted to become an adult.

This is how you described the forest:

There are evergreen trees in the forest. The forest is moderately thick, but with bright sunlight.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Tall trees imply that the adults had a strong influence on the subject. That the forest is very bright tells us that the subject had extensive freedom while growing up.

This is how you described the path:

The path is narrow, but comfortable, not well traveled, but definitely there.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. The visibility of the path tells us that the subject had a good idea of what to expect from adolescence. A narrow path suggests that the subject had limited options for emotional growth at this time. The lack of evidence of fellow travelers suggests strong feelings of isolation at that time. That the path is free of obstructions indicates that the subject had no problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

The water is a river, clear, broad, and deep. The river runs gently, not fast. The river is natural.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Slow, gently moving water suggests a passive, restrained, calm sex drive. Clear water tells us that the subject has no issues regarding sex.

When you came to the water, you crossed it.

The subject is open to new sexual experiences.

This is how you described the cup:

It is an old leather waterskin, in excellent condition.

The vessel, or specifically the practicality of the vessel, is how the subject approaches marriage or bonding. A practical container indicates that the subject is pragmatic when it comes to questions of marriage.

You took the cup and filled it.

The subject is interested in marriage, and sex will be a significant part of that relationship.

This is how you described the key:

It is a heavy golden key. It is an old fashioned turn-key with three tumbler levers rather than the groove and multiple tumbler levers for modern keys. The key obviously unlocks a free-standing door somewhere, a door that apparently leads nowhere, until you open it and see a completely different world on the other side.

The key is the ideal career for the subject. What interests us here is how the key appears (representing how others view the career) and what it may open (representing the subject’s goals for the career). Magical or fantastic keys suggest that the subject has unreasonably high expectations of what will result from a career. Decorative keys suggest that the subject wants an attention-grabbing, one-of-a-kind career.

You confronted the bear.

In a crisis, the subject prefers the direct, no-nonsense approach.

When you came to the wall, you tried to go around it.

The wall represents death: by trying to walk around it, the subject shows an acknowledgment of death, but also a need for an alternative to its finality, such as an afterlife or reincarnation.