Halo in tarot
A ring or burst of light around the head marked divinity in late Roman imperial portraits and was taken over by Christian art, where it became the standard sign of a saint, an angel or Christ. In the Waite-Smith deck it appears on two very different figures. The Hanged Man, upside down on his living tree, has a yellow glory round his head, which Waite read as the sign of illumination rather than suffering. The angel of Temperance wears a halo of fine rays. Readers take a halo as insight, holiness or a mind lit from within, and on the Hanged Man as the reward that surrender brings.
Cards that show halo
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The Hanged Man
The Hanged Man: The halo
A circle of yellow light radiates round the man's head, which hangs near the bottom of the card. Halos mark holiness or illumination. Here it suggests that his insight comes in the inverted state, not in spite of it.
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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.