Analysis for J Crowley, 28 March 2002

This is how you described the room:

The room is dark and somewhat hazy. There's a certain warmth to it, yet an eerie draft streams by from some unidentifiable breach in the outside wall. Black, thick curtains hang about the windows and the furniture looks like something from the Victorian era. Strangely, there's an assortment of modern appliances, almost like temporal anachronisms, that appear throughout the vicinity.

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 stay in the room.

The subject did not want to grow up.

This is how you described the forest:

The forest is dark and thin, the trees nearly all dead and grey. They twist upwards like skeleton fingers of giants buried beneath the earth, reaching for the skies.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Stunted, damaged, or absent trees imply a dearth of adult interaction with the subject. A semi-dark forest tells us that the subject felt somewhat oppressed by the attention the adults gave.

This is how you described the path:

The path is somewhat beaten down. It's not blatant, but you can tell that it's there... not just a patch of space between the deadened trees.

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. 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.

This is how you described the water:

The water is a stream that varies in width from one place to the next, on average about ten feet across. The depth varies as well, usually keeping close to two feet deep. There are a couple of small waterfalls, the tallest no bigger than six feet high. The water is cool and refreshing and clear and flows rather rapidly. It's drinkable. The bottom of the stream is rocky, but not jagged or painful to walk on.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). The movement of the water suggests a normal, average if somewhat playful 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's a military-issue canteen, dark green and filled with some kind of sweet-smelling iced tea. It's relatively cool and half-buried in the dirt near the stream.

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:

The key is a skeleton key, silver in color. Though it looks to have been here for quite a while, it's incredibly shiny and in near-mint condition. I'm guessing it unlocks a door of a nearby house or else the chastity belt of some incredibly beautiful damsel-in-distress on the trail up ahead.

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). Having the key open a house, car, or other commonplace use tells us that the subject has no extraordinary expectations about a career. One is tempted to interpret the chastity belt theory as the career is expected to enhance the subject’s sex life. Old-fashioned keys suggest that the subject desires a traditional career.

You avoided the bear.

In a crisis, the subject prefers the indirect, non-confrontational approach.

When you came to the wall, you turned around and walked back along the path.

The wall represents death: by avoiding it altogether, the subject shows complete denial about the possibility of death.