Within the broad current of Śākta spirituality, several major streams of thought and practice can be discerned, each offering a distinct way of understanding and approaching the Divine Mother. One of the most influential is the Śrīvidyā or Śrī‑kula tradition, centered on Tripurasundarī or Lalitā as the supreme reality. Here, the Śrī Cakra (or Śrī Yantra) and its associated mantras stand at the heart of ritual and contemplation, and the goddess is revered as beauty, bliss, and pure consciousness. This current often articulates a non‑dual vision in which the Goddess is identified with the very Self, drawing heavily on both Tantric symbolism and Vedāntic language.

Complementing this is the Kālī‑kula, which turns toward Kālī and related fierce forms of Devī as the ultimate ground of being. Especially associated with regions such as Bengal and Assam, this stream frequently highlights the awe‑inspiring, time‑devouring aspect of Śakti. Its practices can range from intense devotional worship to more transgressive Tantric disciplines, sometimes classified as Vāmācāra, where antinomian rituals are used as a means to break through conventional dualities. Philosophically, such Kaula and Kālī‑oriented lineages tend toward a radical non‑dualism in which consciousness and its power, Śakti, are never truly separate.

Another important locus of Śākta thought appears within the non‑dual Śaiva traditions of Kashmir, often referred to as Trika and related schools. Although formally counted under Śaivism, many of these lineages give a pronounced primacy to Śakti in both doctrine and practice, seeing the universe as the playful unfolding of Śakti‑consciousness. Here, Śiva and Śakti are understood as inseparable, yet the dynamic, expressive side of reality—Śakti—is frequently foregrounded as the key to realization. In this way, Kashmir Śaivism provides a sophisticated metaphysical framework that many Śāktas draw upon to articulate the unity of the transcendent and the manifest.

Alongside these more explicitly Tantric systems, there are also Vedāntic and Purāṇic expressions of Śāktism that interpret the Goddess as the one non‑dual reality using the language of the Upaniṣads and classical bhakti. Smārta‑Śākta traditions, for example, may honor Devī as Nirguṇa Brahman while still acknowledging multiple deities within a Vedic and Purāṇic framework. Textual currents centered on works such as the Devī‑Bhāgavata Purāṇa and Devī‑Māhātmya similarly present the Goddess as the origin, sustainer, and dissolver of all, often in a devotional, non‑dual or qualified non‑dual key. Across these varied schools, the common thread is a profound affirmation that the ultimate reality is none other than Śakti herself, simultaneously transcendent and immanent, fearsome and compassionate, the ground and goal of all spiritual striving.