The forest as it is described in The Crucible is the meeting place where the girls, under the direction of Tituba, conjure spirits and dance. The implications is that the forest has spaces hidden from view so that the girls can do these things in secret. But also, being outdoors and closer to nature, the forest represents the wild and untamed aspects of human nature. Reverend Parris refers to his daughter and niece "dancing like heathens" in the forest; heathen is a word for one who does not worship God, and the word "heathen" is derived from "heath dweller" which means one who lives close to nature, and is thereby seen as not following the dominant religious faith. This is an attitude that comes from the the age of superstition that characterized the witch hunts in Europe and America; it has to do with city dwellers being more sophisticated than urban dwellers, since city dwellers are more likely to be literate, and able to read the Bible, etc.
The forest is generally a symbol that is associated with a primordial archetype like that described by Jung; it represents darkness and possible evil. Different archetypes are connected to different qualities within human thought and emotions; the forest is connected to the "shadow self" and its similarity to untamed nature and animalistic instincts. There is a connection to sex as well, and its expression being linked to our animalistic selves; and elsewhere in the play John Proctor refers to his affair with Abigail as similar to what "beasts" do.
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