Within Shaktism, the feminine is identified with ultimate reality itself. Shakti, the Divine Mother, is understood as the dynamic, creative power of Brahman, the force that brings forth, sustains, and dissolves the cosmos. The divine masculine, often symbolized as Shiva, is regarded as inert or inactive without this animating power of Shakti. In this vision, feminine power is not a secondary attribute but the very principle through which consciousness becomes manifest and effective.

This theological orientation profoundly shapes how women and feminine power are viewed. Women are frequently regarded as embodiments of Shakti, sometimes described as shakti-svarūpinī, and are thus seen as intrinsically powerful and sacred. Ritual traditions instruct that women, especially in roles such as mothers and wives, be honored as forms of the Goddess. Practices like Kumari Pūjā, in which young girls are worshiped as living goddesses, make this reverence vividly concrete and underscore the sacrality of the female body and presence.

The goddesses at the heart of Shaktism—Durga, Kali, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and others—embody a wide spectrum of feminine power: fierce and protective, nurturing and sustaining, wise and creative, blissful and liberating. Through them, feminine energy is understood as both worldly and transcendent, the source of material well-being as well as spiritual liberation. Female sexuality and motherhood are treated as sacred manifestations of this divine energy, rather than as forces to be merely controlled or suppressed. In tantric currents of Shaktism, the union of Shiva and Shakti symbolizes the integration of consciousness and energy, and the feminine principle becomes indispensable to spiritual realization.

This reverence for Shakti also appears in the inner landscape of practice. Kundalini Shakti, envisioned as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine, is described as the latent spiritual power present in every human being, regardless of gender. Spiritual progress is framed as the awakening and ascent of this inner Shakti through the chakras to unite with Shiva at the crown, expressing a non-dual realization in which the polarity of masculine and feminine is transcended. While social roles for women in Shakta communities have often been shaped by broader cultural norms, the tradition’s theology offers a powerful framework for honoring women as bearers and embodiments of the same divine power that moves the universe.