The Askefruer, which means "Ash Maidens," are a
Norse variation of the common mythological theme of
spirits, that inhabite trees, most of whom are women.
The ash tree was particularly important to ancient northerners: the
World Tree, the axis about which the world revolved, was the ash tree
Yggdrasil. The ash also became important to the later tribe of the Angles and the Celts, upon which they built their system of divination,
Ogham.