Askafroa

The Askafroa, meaning "wife of the ash tree" in Swedish and also called the Danish Askefrue, is a legendary being from Scandinavian folklore. She serves as the guardian spirit of the ash tree, much like the Greek Hamadryads, and was considered a dangerous, malicious entity that could cause great harm. In the Scania region of Sweden, she is said to dwell within ash trees, embodying the tree’s soul. If the tree is cut down, she will seek revenge. To keep her appeased, people made offerings every Ash Wednesday by pouring water over her roots and saying, "I am offering to you so that you do us no harm."

The ash tree held a special place in Nordic mythology, regarded alongside the oak as one of the most magical trees. It was believed to have powers like stopping blood flow or counteracting snake venom. The mythological world tree Yggdrasil was also an ash tree. Swedish scholar Hyltén-Cavallius, in his ethnographic work *Wärend och Wirdarne*, recorded a belief from Ljunit Hundred about a female creature living in an ash tree. Elders would sacrifice to the Askafroa on Ash Wednesday morning before sunrise, pouring water over the tree’s roots and saying, "Nu offrar jag, så gör du oss ingen skada" ("Now I sacrifice [to you], so that you do us no harm"). Hyltén-Cavallius also noted that breaking branches or twigs from the ash tree was thought to cause illness.

In popular culture, the online role-playing game *Dark Age of Camelot* features enemies called Askefruer or Askafroa. A similar theme appears in the Swedish children’s book *Furan* by Lisen Adbåge, where a family moving to a cottage begins cutting down trees, provoking the trees to take revenge and invade the cottage, ultimately turning the family into trees themselves.