When viewing a sandtray, I find it helpful to have a curious mind and to ask questions which I do not necessarily expect to have definitively answered. Asking questions and being open to "wondering" are essential when attempting to understand a sandtray.
With nature and elemental motifs being the subject of planned blog posts, the following musings might be a good place to start. What can be understood about a scene with no miniatures, yet the client has actively moved or shaped the sand? What if the client does not touch the sand at all? What about the use of dry versus wet sand? If a client asks for water to add to the tray, what might that represent? Does the client make use of the blue tray bottom?
If the client has used miniatures, what elemental symbols are shown in the tray? Think beyond the item itself and ask what element it may represent. For example, a lantern may symbolize the illuminating aspect of fire or the sun. What does it mean when a tray contains only items from nature?
These are but a few of the questions to ask regarding sandtrays. A more comprehensive list may be found in Twenty Points to be Considered in the Interpretation of a Sandplay, by Martin Kalf, published in the Jourmal of Sandplay Therapy, Volume II, Number 2, Spring 1993.
Ultimately, I ask, "What does this particular item or creation mean to this particular client?" I may have mythological, psychological, and symbolic information, and yet I believe a very important question to ask is what personal meaning does this sandtray have to this client?