This is how you described the room:
It's warm with tan carpet, light blue walls, light finished antique furniture - light oak not cherry. Stuffed animals arranged haphazardly around the room. There are a couple of soft cushioned chairs and a matching love seat. Mauve accents. A ceiling fan moving slowly and table lamps. There's a chair rail on the walls around the room. And there is a closet, but the door is shut.
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. This comfortable room suggests a childhood that was pleasant. The significant detail in the description of the room tells us that the subject has rich, lasting memories of childhood.
You wanted to leave the room.
The subject wanted to become an adult.
This is how you described the forest:
The trees seem thick, but it is still bright. The sunlight is still getting through. It's dry - not damp and mossy. There are tall pine trees - so tall that I get dizzy looking up to see the tops of the trees. There are green and brown pine needles covering the ground and brown pine cones here and there. I see and hear squirrels. One of them is looking at me and making a lot of noise. I think he's yelling at me - really frustrated with me for some reason.
The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Average lighting tells us that the subject received enough attention from the adults to be guided but not oppressed. Tall trees imply that the adults had a strong influence on the subject. The emphasis on active animal life could indicate strong non-adult influences.
This is how you described the path:
There is not one clear path. The trees are far enough apart that I could be going in any direction with no obstacles. No one direction seems more worn than another.
Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. Poor visibility of the path tells us the subject was often confused by the changes brought on by adolescence.
This is how you described the water:
It's a natural creek - not a lot of water but enough that it's moving - bubbling. Not enough water that I couldn't easily cross it. There's mud around it indicating that it might have been recently flooded. Not a devastating flood but just a lot of water washing from upstream after a heavy rain. The water's clear and cool. It's moving quickly so it looks like it could be clean enough to drink.
The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Clear water tells us that the subject has no issues regarding sex. Slow, gently moving water suggests a passive, restrained, calm sex drive.
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's just a blue plastic cup that someone accidentally dropped. Or maybe it washed up from the creek. I think someone dropped it along the bank upstream and the last heavy rain washed it down here. I don't think anyone was actually here in this place. The cup looks dirty - not something I would want to drink out of.
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. That the cup is dirty—useless—might suggest a thread of misogamy in the subject’s personality.
You took the cup but left it empty.
The subject is interested in marriage, but sex won’t be a significant part of that relationship.
This is how you described the key:
It looks like a car key - silver toned, a little rusted. It's old. Probably washed from upstream like the cup. I think I'll never find out what it unlocks. It's been here too long. I don't even think about the key in relation to what it belongs to.
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). An ordinary-looking key suggests that the subject desires a nondescript career. Having the key open a house, car, or other commonplace use tells us that the subject has no extraordinary expectations about a career.
You avoided the bear.
In a crisis, the subject prefers the indirect, non-confrontational approach.
When you came to the wall, you jumped over it.
The wall represents death: by jumping over it, the subject not only acknowledges death but has come to accept its finality.