Analysis for grape, 9 June 2002

This is how you described the room:

its all very modern, on the stark side, with few objects about. A couple large pictures hang on the wall. The colorful furniture is oddly shaped but comfortable to sit or rest on. The room has adequate warmth.

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. Few, simple furnishings tells us that the subject has few memories of that time.

You wanted to stay in the room.

The subject did not want to grow up.

This is how you described the forest:

the trees are tall and shadowy, small sparkly bits of light are able to shine through periodically making patterns that dance on the ground. The trees are healthy and full, mostly evergreens with a few hardwoods miggling in. there are ferns and wild flowers spread out in the areas that get some of this light.

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:

the vegetation is not so thick that I can't walk easily through these woods. The path has lots of pine needles so it is soft and not slippery even tho a bit damp. the path winds and has some hilly parts but it is easy to navigate. The wild flowers near it are pretty.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. That the path is free of obstructions indicates that the subject had no problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

the waters run swiftly by, they are clear blue, so i can see the bottom of this nature made creek. there are many rocks and the water spills over them making them smoother and slipperier. Down a ways the creek widens and appears more still. the water is quite cold, as it comes from mountain snow run off.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Fast-moving water indicates a strong, active sex drive. It does taper off a bit near the end: this suggest a recent waning of the subject’s libido. 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:

some one has littered and left a bottle of seltzer water. It looks terrible again the natural beauty of the area.

The vessel, or specifically the practicality of the vessel, is how the subject approaches marriage or bonding. That the container is refuse or damaged suggests a cynicism about the institution.

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:

the key is old and tarnished, whatever door it unlocked once, it would probably never be able to unlock again. But the key is beautiful, tho no longer shiny. It seems to have held up through all the elements of time and weather. the key has many stories but no one will ever know them now.

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). Note that the key is worthless: this suggests that the subject is cynical about finding any satisfaction through a job. Note that the tone of the description changes, as the subject longingly thinks of the rich history of the key. Does this indicate a submerged desire to gain fulfillment from a career, made impossible by the subject’s inherent distrust of those who can? Decorative keys suggest that the subject wants an attention-grabbing, one-of-a-kind career.

You avoided the bear.

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