by Kimberly Keown ©2006

One of the most common Pluto Glyphs looks like this:

As Pluto is the Planet most associated with Power, this Glyph appropriately includes the letter 'P'.
(At least in English.)

I think the Glyph symbolizes a Human - the oval of the 'P' represents the head, and the bottom fork of the 'L' represents the feet. Thus, Pluto rules with the head - intellect - and the feet - common sense that provides a firm, steady base of support.

The foot of the Pluto Glyph is long and stable, creating a solid base or platform upon which to stand. It's the same length as the head, indicating that the intellect does not supercede its platform. Or rather, analysis and theory does not supercede reality and known fact.

The long, upright stem of the 'L' represents the body - in particular the heart. As this area is under emphasized, the Power of Pluto does not primarily operate with its emotions or heart, but instead with the intellect as its base of operations. Pluto uses logic and rationalization to give its ideas a steady platform on which to be released to the world.

This may seem like a contradiction, considering that Pluto is associated with Scorpio, a Water sign. However, Pluto is the master of control and not one to be driven by fleeting emotion. Pluto keeps its emotions in check, and uses the power of its intellect - and a firm grasp of reality - to rationalize emotions into logical, reasonable explanations.

As a Water sign, Pluto starts out with a hunch - an intuition - then uses intellect and common sense to explain the emotion and make it rational and believable. This gives the emotion credibility, as there is scientific proof to substantiate it. This separates Pluto from the other Water signs.

The other Water signs - Pisces and Cancer (and their rulers Neptune and the Moon) - are primarily intuitively and emotionally driven; they are not known for being very factual or intellectual. Thus, their hunches or conclusions are dismissed by some as 'flaky' or 'strange', as they often cannot explain to others why they feel the way they do. Pluto, however, explains its emotions, intuition, and hunches with a logical, rational, step-by-step process that helps the 'left-brained' signs understand how and why Pluto reached the conclusions it did.

While Pluto is down-to-earth and full of common-sense, the strong, heavy bottom leg of the 'L' implies a willingness to muscle through life with a certain amount of brute force. This is great when one is pioneering through new territory (after all, Scorpio's secondary ruler is Mars), as Pluto has enough force to forge (and pave!) a path through the thickest forest, crushing underfoot anything that inhibits its forward motion.

Used indiscriminately, this power does more harm than good. Others don't like those heavy-handed tactics, and can be hurt by them. It becomes matter of whether the end justifies the means. So it's back to the intellect to discriminate whether the end does justify the means... and if not, what other acceptable means exist to reach the desired end.

As the foot in the Pluto Glyph is the same length as the head, the foot does not supercede the intellect. Pluto has the intelligence to recognize when its tactics are too strong or inappropriate, and the objectivity to pull itself away and turn in another direction - even when it's emotionally caught up in the current outcome. Pluto uses intellect to recognize when its feelings are faulty or inappropriate to the situation and thus can weed out appropriate feelings from inappropriate ones - and control them all.