The Eight of Pentacles

Putting in the 10K hours.

Upright

Diligence and hard work on the way to mastery.

Reversed

A need for focus or hard work, or misdirected work.

This is the card of diligent, hard work that you do on the way to mastery. Someone is serious about putting in the 10,000 hours needed to become an expert. Someone is really in it. At extremes, this card can also mean perfectionism. I like to think of this card as showing the flow of hard work and deep focus that brings joy and satisfaction. It is the card of flow state.

When reversed, this card indicates a need for focus or hard work. It can also mean that hard work is happening, but it is happening without vision; it is directed in the wrong place, and therefore going nowhere.