Latin translation. do I have this right? "serva animum"?

Question

I'm going to get a tattoo and just wanted to get a quick second opinion to make sure I have this right.
I want it to say "serva animum" and would just like to confirm that it is in command form to say "protect the soul/mind"
can someone please just let me know if this is correct? Thanks so much.
p.s. those are the specific words i want to use, just want to make sure they are in the correct form.

Answer 1

Yes, it is in the correct form. This is a basic first year Latin question as far as the grammar is concerned.

Lewis & Short defines servo as save, deliver, keep unharmed, preserve, protect as the general translation. It has other, more specific uses which do not convey this same meaning, which is why Caicos has suggested custode. It only has the one meaning.

Latin has several words for soul; among them are anima (the soul as a principle of life), animus (the soul as the seat of thought and feelings), and spiritus (mostly poetical, post-Classical usage).

Answer 2

You seem to have made up your mind, but I think that "custode" would have been better than "serva", as it means "watch, protect, keep, defend, guard" whereas "serva" means " serve, help, gratify or even, in a legal context, be mortgaged".
"Custode animum" gives the right meaning.

Answer 3

Yes, although it means more "serve / assist / gratify" rather than "protect".