"A Practical Guide to the Runes" provides in a concise manner:

EIHWAZ the yew, URUZ the wild ox, KENAZ the hearth fire. Created by the Nordic and Germanic tribes of northern Europe, the runes began as a magickal system of pictographs representing the forces and objects in nature. This guidebook will help you discover the oracular nature of the runes and how to use them as a magickal tool for insight, protection, and luck. Practical and concise, this book includes: - Complete descriptions of the twenty-four runes of the Elder Futhark, plus WYRD, the blank rune - The differences between bindrunes and runescripts - Four rune layouts and detailed rune interpretations, including reversed position meanings - How to carve runes and create talismans - Meanings and uses of the runes in magick