The Rorschach Ink BlotsHermann Rorschach 1884-1922) was a Swiss Freudian psychiatrist and psychoanalyst best known for developing a projective test known from his name as the Rorschach inkblot test.The test consists of ten cards, each with a different inkblot design. The cards (or plates) are numbered 1 through 10, and that is the order in which the psychologist always gives them to you.  Rorschach Plate 1 by Atomicsteve Plate I “Black. Failure is almost never encountered. Stimulates form and movement responses equally. Easy to interpret as a Whole and in Details. There are a number of small Details which frequently give rise to answers.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921 This is a black and white card, often described as looking like a mask or the face of a fox or wolf. Possible Sexual Imagery: Breasts, primarily the rounded areas at the top of the image.  Rorschach Plate 2 by Atomicsteve Plate II “Black and Red. Kinaethesias (The subject imagines the object ‘seen’ as moving.) more easily seen than in Plate I. Contains a prominent intermediate figure. Color is introduced and occasionally induces a suggestion of ‘color shock.’ The red runs into the black.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
This is a card with black and red ink, often described as people dancing or touching hands with each other.
Possible Sexual Imagery: Male sex organ at top center or, in some cases, a vagina (at the center near the bottom).
 Rorschach Plate 3 by Atomicsteve Plate III “Black and Red. Kinaethesias easiest to see. The red separated from the black.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
This is a card with black and red ink, frequently visualized as two people facing each other or sometimes a butterfly or moth.
Possible Sexual Imagery: Male sex organs and female breasts, right about where you would expect to find them.
Plate IV “Black. Form and movement both comparatively difficult. More difficult to interpret as a whole than in details. The figure is generally considered ‘beautiful’ but the interpretation is difficult.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
A card with only black ink formed in a triangle-shaped blot. The two lower corners are often described as shoes or boots. This card may also be seen as viewing a person from below or a male figure with an enormous sex organ.
Possible Sexual Imagery: A pair of male sex organs, typically seen at the top of the image. Some subjects may instead visualize a vagina in the upper center of the blot.
 Rorschach Plate 5 by Atomicsteve Plate V “Black. The easiest form to interpret. Almost always interpreted as a ‘bat’ or a ‘moth.’ Schizophrenics frequently fail to answer on this figure, or they see, for example, moving people in it.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
This is another card with only black ink. The vast majority of test subjects will see a bat- or bird-like figure. This is by far the most common response.
Possible Sexual Imagery: A pair of male sex organs at the very top of the inkblot.
| Fascinated as I am by what I think of as primitive psychology, the Rorschach Inkblot Personality Test has always intrigued me. Despite what most people think and what some psychiatrists will tell you, the inkblots are no longer secrets protected by copyright. I've designed a series of ten Tee Shirts incorporating the original designs and colors first pioneered by Hermann Rorschach.
The explanations beneath the shirts are quotes by Rorschach himself, giving a short description of the most common responses to the cards from his book Psychodiagnostics. (1921) The notes on possible sexual imagery are from http://www.deltabravo.net/custody/rorschach.php.  Rorschach Plate 6 by Atomicsteve Plate VI “Black. Generally called the most difficult of the figures.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
A card with black ink showing an amorphorous “splat” shape. This one can be hard to see anything in. Occasionally described as a foreshortened view of a person with their arms outstretched.
Possible Sexual Imagery: The head of the male sex organ (the portion at the top of the card) or alternately, a female sex organ (middle and bottom part of the card).
 Rorschach Plate 7 by Atomicsteve Plate VII “Black. The essential part ids the white intermediate figure, a rather obvious oil lamp, rather than the black figures. This plate represents the converse of Plate V, in that normals rarely see the lamp while schizophrenics frequently do.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921 This is another card with only black ink. This card has a rough “V” shape sometimes described as faces pointing towards one another, “bunny ears”, or similar visualizations. Possible Sexual Imagery: The female sex organs (seen at the bottom of the card where the figures join.  Rorschach Plate 8 by Atomicsteve Plate VIII “Multicolored. Harmonious color and form. Color shock apparent in neurotics. Easily interpreted, at least in detail.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
This is a very colorful card with blue, orange, pink, and gray ink. A roughly diamond-shaped image with lots of places to see things- a mask, animals climbing up the outsides, a moth or butterfly, a person with their arms akimbo, etc.
Possible Sexual Imagery: Female sex organs, usually seen at the bottom of the card.
 Rorschach Plate 9 by Atomicsteve Plate IX “Multicolored. Discordant color and form. Kinaethesias easily aroused. In addition, a definite intermediate figure.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
Another colorful card, this time with orange, pink, and green inks. This one is tough to visualize anything specific in; most test subjects struggle to find something to “see” in it.
Possible Sexual Imagery: Female sex organs, usually seen at the bottom of the card.
 Rorschach Plate 10 by Atomicsteve Plate X “Multicolored. Disparate blots. Whole answers almost impossible.”
-Hermann Rorschach; Psychodiagnostics; 1921
This is the last Rorschach card and certainly the most colorful, consisting of blue, gray, pink, green, orange and yellow inks. It's a very complex mish-mash of shapes with lots of “activity” and plenty of places to “see” things.
Possible Sexual Imagery: Male sex organs at the top center of the card.
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