Analysis for Jen, 8 January 2003

This is how you described the room:

The walls are cold beige stone. It's freezing, but my bed is cozy warm. There are beautiful tapestries adorning the walls. The bed, which is huge, is in the center of the room. It is the only piece of furniture.

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 items in the room are average, which tells us that the subject has the normal memories of childhood. (While the bed is the only furnishing, the tapestries count as some decor.)

You wanted to leave the room.

The subject wanted to become an adult.

This is how you described the forest:

The forest is bright and happy. There are birds singing. There is a breeze, and it makes the leaves sing, too. There are all sorts of trees, but they make a tapestry and no one tree stands out.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Average-sized trees imply the normal influence adults have on a child: neither insignificant nor impressive. That the forest is very bright tells us that the subject had extensive freedom while growing up.

This is how you described the path:

It's a wide, smooth path. It looks well-traveled and inviting.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. The visibility of the path tells us that the subject had a good idea of what to expect from adolescence. A wide path indicates that the subject had numerous options for emotional growth at this time. The strong evidence of fellow travelers tells us that the subject received a lot of support from friends and family during that potentially troubling time. That the path is free of obstructions indicates that the subject had no problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

It's a narrow, rocky stream. I don't have to touch the water to know it's ice cold. The water is perfectly clear. I can see every detail of every rock and fish.

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. The presence of life in or around the water indicates a strong desire for children.

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 small stone jug with a somewhat narrow top. It's surprising light.

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 large, very heavy, skeleton key. It obviously unlocks something very old and very mysterious.

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). Magical or fantastic keys suggest that the subject has unreasonably high expectations of what will result from a career. 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 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.