Analysis for Crazed Loner, 19 March 2005

This is how you described the room:

The room is a dank, dark, stinking pit, freezing cold. Torture devices line the walls -- there's a rack, an iron maiden, hanging whips and prods, and sharp blades dripping with blood. Chains with barbed links hang from the ceiling. In one corner is a tub heaped full of human bones.

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. A very uncomfortable room suggests a highly traumatic childhood. The depth of description tells us that the subject has strong memories of childhood.

You wanted to leave the room.

The subject wanted to become an adult.

This is how you described the forest:

The forest looks like southern California, with sequoias and redwoods stretching all the way up to the sky and blotting out the sun. It is noon, and yet in the forest it is as dark as midnight under a new moon. The howls of wolves are heard, very nearby.

The forest is growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. Very tall trees imply that the adults had a significant and substantial impact on the subject’s life. A very dark forest tells us that the subject felt considerably oppressed by the attentions of the adults.

This is how you described the path:

The path can barely be seen, as it is heaped high with huge rocks and stones. One of the giant trees has fallen over, completely blocking the path the way we came. What remains is choked and narrow, and looks to not have been used in years, if not centuries.

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. Lots of obstructions on the path indicate many problems during adolescence.

This is how you described the water:

The water is a rushing torrent, murky and silty as it tumbles through black mud. The corpses of tiny frogs and fish, choked on the poison, float in the water.

The water is the subject’s sexuality. What interests us here is the clarity of the water (representing attitude) and its movement (representing libido). Rushing, violent water indicates a powerful, vigorous, and quite possibly compulsive sex drive. Murky, dirty, or otherwise unclear water suggests that the subject has significant 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 an old, crumpled-up fast food paper cup. It's torn on one side; if it could ever have held water, it won't now.

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 left the cup behind.

The subject is not interested in marriage.

This is how you described the key:

It's the opening key from a can of sardines. Once it might have been useful to obtain sustenance, but at this point it's rusty, discarded trash.

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