Angels and wings in tarot

Angels in the Bible are messengers between heaven and earth, and three great angels preside over the Major Arcana. Above the Lovers a winged figure with arms outstretched pours down blessing; Temperance's angel, with the sign of the sun on its forehead, pours what Waite called the essences of life from cup to cup; and the trumpeter of Judgement sounds the last call. Later readers often name them Raphael, Michael and Gabriel, though Waite does not. Winged figures also fill the corners of the Wheel and the World. In readings an angel brings blessing, guidance or a summons. Wings mark anything that mediates between levels. The Devil's dark bat wings are a pointed inversion.

Cards that show angels and wings

The Lovers
The Lovers: The angel
A large winged figure with hair like flames and a grey-purple robe rises from a pink-edged cloud, arms spread in blessing. It is often identified as the archangel Raphael, though Waite does not name it. Its presence makes the union sacred, seen and approved from above.
Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune: The four living creatures
An angel, an eagle, a bull and a lion sit on clouds in the corners, each with an open book. They are the creatures of Ezekiel's vision and Revelation, later the emblems of the four Evangelists, and are often linked to the fixed signs of the zodiac. They return on the World.
Temperance
Temperance: The angel
A tall, calm figure with curly golden hair, a halo of fine rays and broad wings in red and dark violet. Waite noted that the angel is neither male nor female. Angels are messengers between heaven and earth, and this one does its work quietly.
Judgement
Judgement: The angel with the trumpet
A large angel with curly golden hair and red and dark wings leans out of the clouds, blowing a long gold trumpet. The angel is often identified as Gabriel. The trumpet is a summons that cannot be ignored, heard by everyone at once.
Two of Cups
Two of Cups: The winged lion's head
Above the caduceus floats a fierce red-orange lion's head between broad brown wings. The lion is passion and strength; its wings lift it upward. Waite says only that it is a variant of a sign on a few old cards and leaves its meaning unexplained.
Knight of Cups
Knight of Cups: The winged helmet and heels
Small grey wings rise from his helmet and from his heels. They recall Hermes, the messenger, and Waite reads them as 'those higher graces of the imagination': a mind that travels faster than the horse.
Queen of Cups
Queen of Cups: The covered cup
She holds an ornate gold vessel with a lid, crowned by a small cross and flanked by two winged figures for handles. It is the only lidded cup in the suit: feeling held as something sacred, and kept rather than poured out.
Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords: The carved throne
Her high grey throne carries a winged child's head on its side and further carving below. The winged head is often read as a cherub or a sylph, a spirit of air, softening the hard grey stone.