This is how you described the room:
The room is dark with a tiny flame dancing atop a candle in the corner on a small wooden table. The walls are bare and there is only one window that is wide open with a gentle breeze blowing in just enough to move the white, almost see through curtains. The king size waterbed is up against the wall opposite the partially opened door. There is a small handful of pocket change and a pen on top of the bureau that stands in the corner next to a wooden chair with a pair of jeans and a shirt strewn across the back.
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 items in the room are average, which tells us that the subject has the normal memories of childhood. (Note here that the darkness—normally indicative of an unpleasant childhood—is used to establish a cozy mood.)
You wanted to stay in the room.
The subject did not want to grow up.
This is how you described the forest:
The thick, short pine forest is bright green full of branches that have to be pushed aside to get through. The tops of the trees are just about eye level and you can see taller pines in the distance. This appears to be a very young forest with lots of birds flying in and out of the tree branches as I walk through.
The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Small trees imply that the adults had a weak influence on the subject. Note that the subject describes them as taller in the distance, as if the adults were more influential later in life.
This is how you described the path:
The narrow path is very hard to see through all the branches and one could get lost easily if it weren't for the fact that you can see above the short trees.
Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. That plants are the major source of obstructions tells us that the subject’s problems arose mostly from interactions with adults. 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:
The trickling brook of clear, cool water flows by unobstructed. Although not too wide it looks deep in spots.
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:
A smooth, medium size, wooden ladle.
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:
A shiny, new brass colored house key.
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 confronted the bear.
In a crisis, the subject prefers the direct, no-nonsense 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.