February Week 4: The Ivory Shield (better late than never)

Yikes it's been a minute! But I wanted to wrap up (finally) the last week of February for the month ahead.

That last week in February it was hard to see where The Ivory Shield began and the Empress (my February theme card) ended.

In Spirit Keeper's Tarot (SKT) the Shields represent the Queens of the tarot court. In this case The Ivory shield would be equivalent to the Queen of Cups. The Shields symbolize protection and defense, and to quote The Book of Maps, "A shield appears as a spirit protector to block something from harming you." The Ivory Shield blocks distractions that hold you back from embodying the characteristics of the water element: relationships of any kind, spiritual development, emotional development.
Inscribed on her shield in  Latin is a verse from Psalm 23, "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for you are with me."
Now that's what I call a shield.

Both The Empress and The Ivory Shield showed up for me in full force as Mother, nurturer, and protector for my daughter and son. It was helping my daughter get through her cold while making sure my son didn't contract it. I maybe should have shielded myself as I ended up getting it, too! Then it was nurturing my son through the middle a middle of the night stomach ache and nausea.

It was being supportive and empathetic for my daughter as she struggled to get through a book report. Book reports for dyslexic children are.....let's just say many tears were shed. It was something from which I desperately wished I could shield and protect her; that level of frustration that I know will always be there. Ultimately she just wanted me next to her for moral support as she was so determined to work through it.

It was trying to somehow nurture my son who was feeling neglected due to the book repot saga. Was there some grand gesture I could do to show my affection toward him post book report saga (said the Leo)? No. It was just staying up a few minutes later than usual to watch YouTube videos of someone building a shelter by hand in nature, and also Ancient Aliens (that's our thing).

The week was also movies and popcorn and warm blankets. Stealing kisses on my son's forehead, and my daughter, who at 12, surprisingly doesn't hesitate to hold my hand going from the parking lot to the store. It was creating new spaces for my daughter and I to each work (we did a desk switch), and creating more space in my son's room by purging those items now deemed "too young" or "babyish".
We finished the month strong, the three of us together.
​On we go.......