A Walk Through the Forest

The Script:

  1. You awake one morning and find yourself in an odd yet familiar room. Describe the room. Is it warm or cold? What kind of furnishings and decorations are there?

  2. You approach a forest. What does it look like?

  3. There is a path leading through the trees. Describe the path. Is it pleasant to walk there?

  4. A bear now walks towards you and stops in front of you on the path, but you have to carry on. How do you get past the bear?

  5. You walk on a little and you see a cottage. What does it look like from the outside?

  6. You then go inside. What does it look like from the inside?

  7. You come out of the cottage and walk on. You come to some water. What kind of water is is? A stream, a river, a lake, fresh water etc.?

  8. You walk on and see a high wall across your path. Do you climb it or turn back? What do you do?

  9. You manage to look on the other side of the wall. What do you see? Is it pleasant? Dark? Light?


The Symbolism:
  1. The initial room is your childhood.

  2. The forest represents the way you view life in general.

  3. The path represents your own life.

  4. The bear represents problems and how you deal with them.

  5. The cottage represents you - how you look on the outside.

  6. The inside of the cottage is your own inner concept of yourself.

  7. The water reprersents sex and your attitude to it.

  8. The clay pot represents your attitude towards possessions.

  9. The wall represents death and your attitude toward death.

  10. What you see on the other side of the wall is your view of the afterlife.


A Sample Reading

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.

The items in the room are average, which tells us that the subject has the normal memories of childhood. This comfortable room suggests a childhood that was pleasant.

The subject wanted to leave the room. That means the subject wanted to become an adult.

The forest represents growing up, and the trees are those adults with whom the subject interacted at that time. A well-lit forest tells us that the subject had considerable freedom at this time. Average-sized trees imply the normal influence adults have on a child: neither insignificant nor impressive.

Adolescence is represented by the path through the forest. A wide path indicates that the subject had numerous options for emotional growth at this time.

Poor visibility of the path tells us the subject was often confused by the changes brought on by adolescence. The lack of evidence of fellow travelers suggests strong feelings of isolation at that time. That plants are the major source of obstructions tells us that the subject's problems arose mostly from interactions with adults.

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 the subject came to the water, the subject crossed it.The subject is open to new sexual experiences.

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 .

The subject took the cup and filled it.The subject is interested in marriage, and sex will be a significant part of that relationship.

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. Decorative keys suggest that the subject wants an attention-grabbing, one-of-a-kind career.

The subject confronted the bear. In a crisis, the subject prefers the direct, no-nonsense approach.

When the subject came to the wall, the subject 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.

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Psychological Test - A walk throught the forest - how walking through a forest represents your views on life.