The black or red colored Chamundi is described as wearing a garland of severed heads or skulls (Mundamala). She is described as having four, eight, ten or twelve arms, holding a Damaru (drum), trishula (trident), sword, a snake, skull-mace (khatvanga), thunderbolt, a severed head and panapatra (drinking vessel, wine cup) or skull-cup (kapala), filled with blood. Standing on a corpse of a man (shava or preta) or seated on a defeated demon or corpse (pretasana), she is described as having a skeletal body with three eyes, a terrifying face, drooping breasts, protruding teeth, long nails and a sunken belly. Chamundi is depicted adorned by ornaments of bones, skulls, serpents and scorpions, symbols of disease and death. She also wears a Yajnopavita (sacred thread)  of skulls. She wears a jata mukuta, that is, headdress formed of piled, matted hair tied with snakes or skull ornaments. Sometimes, a crescent moon is seen on her head.  Her socket eyes are described as burning the world with flames. She is accompanied by fiends and goblins.  She is also shown surrounded by skeletons or ghosts and beasts like jackals, who are shown eating the flesh of the corpse the goddess sits or stands on. The jackals and her fearsome companions are sometimes depicted as drinking blood from the skull-cup or blood dripping from the severed head, implying that Chamundi, like Kaali, drinks the blood of the defeated enemies.  This quality of drinking blood is a usual characteristic of all Matrikas, and Chamundi in particular. At times, she is depicted seated on an owl, her vahana (mount or vehicle,) also used by Lakshmi. Her banner figures an eagle, Vishnu's vahana.

These characteristics, a contrast to usual Hindu goddess depiction with full breasts and a beautiful face, are symbols of overcoming old age, death, decay and destruction.  All the fierceness is the face shown to the evil ones, but to the devotees she is a loving grandmother/crone.