a tongue of fire (see attestations)
"In aiamo vallaci españoles, oc matlacxivitl, centlamātli tetzavitl achto nez, ilhuicatitech, iuhqui in tlemiiaoatl, iuhqui in tlecueçolutl, iuhquin tlavizcalli, pipixauhticaca inic necia; iuhq'n ilhuicatl quiçoticac: tzimpatlaoac, quapitzaoac: vel inepantla in ilhuicatll vel yiollo..." = "Ten years before the arrival of the Spaniards an omen first appeared in the sky, like a flame or the light of dawn. It appeared to be throwing off [sparks] and seemed to pierce the sky. It was wide at the bottom and narrow at the top. It looked as though it reached the very middle of the sky, it very heart." (Lockhart transcription and translation) (central Mexico, sixteenth century; 1570s at the latest)