diff --git a/i3pystatus/battery.py b/i3pystatus/battery.py
index e812e76..74374c5 100644
--- a/i3pystatus/battery.py
+++ b/i3pystatus/battery.py
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ import re
 from i3pystatus import IntervalModule, formatp
 from i3pystatus.core.command import run_through_shell
 from i3pystatus.core.desktop import DesktopNotification
-from i3pystatus.core.util import lchop, TimeWrapper, make_bar
+from i3pystatus.core.util import lchop, TimeWrapper, make_bar, make_glyph
 
 
 class UEventParser(configparser.ConfigParser):
@@ -141,6 +141,7 @@ class BatteryChecker(IntervalModule):
     * `{battery_ident}` — the same as the setting
     * `{bar}` —bar displaying the relative percentage graphically
     * `{bar_design}` —bar displaying the absolute percentage graphically
+    * `{glyph}` — A single character or string (selected from 'glyphs') representing the current battery percentage
 
     This module supports the :ref:`formatp <formatp>` extended string format
     syntax. By setting the ``FULL`` status to an empty string, and including
@@ -195,6 +196,7 @@ class BatteryChecker(IntervalModule):
         ("not_present_text",
          "The text to display when the battery is not present. Provides {battery_ident} as formatting option"),
         ("no_text_full", "Don't display text when battery is full - 100%"),
+        ("glyphs", "Arbitrarily long string of characters (or array of strings) to represent battery charge percentage"),
     )
 
     battery_ident = "ALL"
@@ -220,6 +222,7 @@ class BatteryChecker(IntervalModule):
     critical_color = "#ff0000"
     not_present_color = "#ffffff"
     no_text_full = False
+    glyphs = "▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█"
 
     battery_prefix = 'BAT'
     base_path = '/sys/class/power_supply'
@@ -318,6 +321,7 @@ class BatteryChecker(IntervalModule):
             "percentage_design": self.percentage(batteries, design=True),
             "consumption": self.consumption(batteries),
             "remaining": TimeWrapper(0, "%E%h:%M"),
+            "glyph": make_glyph(self.percentage(batteries), self.glyphs),
             "bar": make_bar(self.percentage(batteries)),
             "bar_design": make_bar(self.percentage(batteries, design=True)),
         }
diff --git a/i3pystatus/core/util.py b/i3pystatus/core/util.py
index 8e7c698..5d9bd71 100644
--- a/i3pystatus/core/util.py
+++ b/i3pystatus/core/util.py
@@ -523,6 +523,53 @@ def make_bar(percentage):
     return result
 
 
+def make_glyph(number, glyphs="▁▂▃▄▅▆▇█", lower_bound=0, upper_bound=100, enable_boundary_glyphs=False):
+    """
+    Returns a single glyph from the list of glyphs provided relative to where
+    the number is in the range (by default a percentage value is expected).
+
+    This can be used to create an icon based representation of a value with an
+    arbitrary number of glyphs (e.g. 4 different battery status glyphs for
+    battery percentage level).
+
+    :param number: The number being represented.  By default a percentage value\
+    between 0 and 100 (but any range can be defined with lower_bound and\
+    upper_bound).
+    :param glyphs: Either a string of glyphs, or an array of strings.  Using an array\
+    of strings allows for additional pango formatting to be applied such that\
+    different colors could be shown for each glyph).
+    :param lower_bound:  A custom lower bound value for the range.
+    :param upper_bound:  A custom upper bound value for the range.
+    :param enable_boundary_glyphs: Whether the first and last glyphs should be used\
+    for the special case of the number being <= lower_bound or >= upper_bound\
+    respectively.
+    :returns: The glyph found to represent the number
+    """
+
+    # Handle edge cases first
+    if lower_bound >= upper_bound:
+        raise Exception("Invalid upper/lower bounds")
+    elif number <= lower_bound:
+            return glyphs[0]
+    elif number >= upper_bound:
+            return glyphs[-1]
+
+    if enable_boundary_glyphs:
+        # Trim first and last items from glyphs as boundary conditions already
+        # handled
+        glyphs = glyphs[1:-1]
+
+    # Determine a value 0 - 1 that represents the position in the range
+    adjusted_value = (number - lower_bound) / (upper_bound - lower_bound)
+
+    # Determine the closest glyph to show
+    # As we have positive indices, we can use int for floor rounding
+    # Adjusted_value should always be < 1
+    glyph_index = int(len(glyphs) * adjusted_value)
+
+    return glyphs[glyph_index]
+
+
 def user_open(url_or_command):
     """Open the specified paramater in the web browser if a URL is detected,
     othewrise pass the paramater to the shell as a subprocess. This function