Analysis for Anonymous, 1 May 2002

This is how you described the room:

The room is warm. My big, comfortable bed sits right in the middle of the room where I lay curled up in my warm blankets relaxing the day away.

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. Note that the subject implies that there is some sort of stress outside of the room, as if the adult world intruded early on childhood. The items in the room are average, which tells us that the subject has the normal 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:

Thick, green, needly pine trees. I can hear the fallen needles crunch when I walk. The sun barely shines through the branches.

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. 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:

It is not easily navigated. Lots of dead pine needles and cones scatter the ground. Nobody has traveled this path before. It's almost non-existent.

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. That plants are the major source of obstructions tells us that the subject’s problems arose mostly from interactions with adults.

This is how you described the water:

It's a natural, narrow trickling stream of water rapidly flowing through the middle of the forest. The water is clear but contains debris from surrounding trees.

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. Since the majority of contamination is from the trees, this suggests that the subject blames the adults for those few issues that exist.

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 very old canteen. Probably left behind by a lost camper.

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 left the cup behind.

The subject is not interested in marriage.

This is how you described the key:

It's a small, silver key. Probably to the door of a house or building of some sort.

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. An ordinary-looking key suggests that the subject desires a nondescript 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.