Analysis for Anonymous, 2 April 2004

This is how you described the room:

The room is medium sized, with plain white walls and ceiling. The floor is dark gray, made of a hard, lightly textured substance. It's warm enough to be slightly uncomfortable. The only furnishings are the bed, a spare frame of steel with a thin mattress and white sheets, and a small stand or table made of black stone. On top of the table is an unglazed white bowl holding two featureless metal disks. They are silvery and coin sized.

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. 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, slender, and straight-trunked. They have bark in varying shades of brown and gray, and leaves ranging from lavender to green. Enough light filters through them to see by, albeit dimly. There is no undergrowth except for the thick dark moss covering the ground. It's very quiet.

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. 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's just a gap in the trees, with wide, irregular paving stones with moss growing in the cracks. It's about one and a half yards wide but varies, as the edges are jagged. It feels very old. It's hard to tell if anyone's passed this way in a long while.

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 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 cold stream, sliding easily down the hillside. The bottom is lined with pebbles in pale colors, with occasional darker ones scattered throughout. The banks are gently sloping, and it would be easy to step in. It looks only a few feet deep, and no more than twice as wide. The water is clean and clear and moves with a gentle whisper. The moss ends sharply at water level.

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 went around it.

The subject is not interested in new sexual experiences.

This is how you described the cup:

It's made of a gray metal with a gentle gloss. The cup narrows to a thumb-thick stem and flares out at the base. A little below the rim there is an engraved band of knot work enclosed between two straight lines at top and bottom. It is empty and shows no sign of what, if anything, it may once have contained.

The vessel, or specifically the practicality of the vessel, is how the subject approaches marriage or bonding. A container that is both decorative and practical indicates that the subject considers both romantic and pragmatic aspects 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:

It is slender and made of a light metal, like silver, but very strong. It cannot be marked with a thumbnail or tooth, or bent with hands. The path has left it slightly dusty but it is easily cleaned. One end of the shaft ends in a ring; the other ends in two teeth, equal in size. It looks like it unlocks an old door or gate. Perhaps into a garden.

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. Old-fashioned keys suggest that the subject desires a traditional career.

You confronted the bear.

In a crisis, the subject prefers the direct, no-nonsense 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.