Basic Home PūjāThe Simplest Form of Traditional Ritual Pūjā

You need an icon or a deity – you can have a small statue of bronze or brass, a śiva-liṅga stone, a crystal representing the presence of the divine, or virtually any other representation of divinity that is central on your altar.

Begin with the water offering.

oṁ vaṁ amṛtam udakaṃ samārpayāmi

A water offering is optional, but if you make a water offering, then you can collect the water, which is now consecrated, blessed water, and you can drink it as an offering from the goddess, from the deity to you.

Next we have flower offerings. 

oṁ huṁ puṣpaṃ samārpayāmi  

oṁ huṁ puṣpaṃ samārpayāmi  

oṁ huṁ puṣpaṃ samārpayāmi 

Next we have the incense offering, you can optionally ring a bell while you offer incense. When you light the incense, always wave out the flame, never blow it out.

oṁ yaṁ dhūpaṃ samārpayāmi 

Then we have a flame offering, and you might repeat that mantra a couple more times to really bask in the offering.

oṁ raṁ dīpaṃ samārpayāmi

oṁ raṁ dīpaṃ samārpayāmi

oṁ raṁ dīpaṃ samārpayāmi 

And finally, the food offering.

oṁ laṁ naivedyaṃ nivedayāmi

Once all the offerings have been made, representing all the elements – water for water element; flowers for space element; incense for wind element; flame for flame element; and food for earth element – you might just sit quietly for a few moments and then consume the food and water as a gift from the goddess, as blessed prasād, pure grace in the form of, in this case, apple and water.