u/TJ_in_Reddit

This isn't a philosophical process. It's more of a practical and methodological practice before chanting the main deity's mantra or anything. It's more to clearing the Karmic debts and the obstacles in your way.

Edit: The items you need are a container of clean water, a spoon, and flowers. If you're even dedicated and familiar, use Panchapatra made of copper, brass, silver or gold. If not, use any stainless steel container and spoon. Avoid iron, zinc, and aluminum. If you have a lamp (preferably made of metal or ceramic) it would be great. If you have an altar, it's best done in front of that altar while facing East (best), or North. Avoid sitting facing South. To bless the water, chant Gange ca Yamune caiva Godavari Sarasvati | Narmade Sindhu Kaveri jalesmin sannidhim kuru || And then use the mantras of your ishta to empower the water further.

We begin with a small prayer to Ganapati and the Guru. Simple shlokas or even nama mantras are enough for this. If you have no Guru, worship Dakshinamurti.

We now move to Suciḥ (purification).

apavitraḥ pavitro vā sarvāvasthāṁ gato 'pi vā

Yaḥ smaret puṇḍarīkākṣaṁ sa bāhyābhyantaraḥ śuciḥ

This is from the Srimad Bhagavatam. By thinking of an enlightened being, we are immediately purified. It could be Vishnu, Buddha, Bamakhepa, Jesus, anyone divine and realized of the divine.

Sprinkle water while chanting (puṇḍarīkākṣa, puṇḍarīkākṣa, puṇḍarīkākṣa).

Next, perform acamaniyam. Inner purification with the names of Vishnu that is "Achyuta, Ananta, Govinda".

There's also the 3 Tattvas. (The soul, the knowledge, Shiva that is emptiness)

The mantras are; ōṁ ātmatattvaṁ śōdhayāmi namaḥ svāhā | õm vidyātattvaṁ śōdhayāmi namaḥ svāhā | ōṁ śivatattvaṁ śōdhayāmi namaḥ svāhā | ōm sarvatattvaṁ śōdhayāmi namaḥ svāhā ||

You can perform pranayama at this moment, it will bring you into a meditative mode. There are many methods of pranayama, choose your preferred method online.

Then, we do Asana Shuddhi, purification and sthapana of one's seat before conducting rituals. Pray to Bhumidevi while drawing an inverted triangle (or a shatkona) with a bindu.

Samudra vasane devi parvata stana mandale

Vishnupatni namastubhyam padasparsham kshamasvame

This means you're apologizing the Earth for touching Her with your feet.

Take a small amount of water and sprinkle it on your seat.

Mantra:

Om Asana-mantrasya Meru-pṛṣṭha Ṛṣiḥ, Sutalaṃ Chandaḥ, Kūrmo Devatā, Āsanopaveśane Viniyogaḥ.

Touch the seat with your right hand and recite the following:

Pṛthvi tvayā dhṛtā lokā devi tvaṃ viṣṇunā dhṛtā |

Tvaṃ ca dhāraya māṃ devi pavitraṃ kuru cāsanam ||

(O Mother Earth, you support the worlds; you are supported by Vishnu. Support me as well, O Goddess, and make this seat pure.)

If you have a prayer mat, place is above the spot you purified.

Then chant "Om astrāya phaṭ" while sitting and clapping once.

Now, meditate upon your ishta devata. At least 5 to 10 minutes minimum.

Chant an avahana mantra. It could be a full shloka or as simple as "Om ...... avahayami namah" to invite your ishta devata.

Worship Mahaganapati with a full stotra or japa with his beeja or nama mantra. It could be 27 to 108 or even 5 malas. It's up to you.

Worship the Dvaradevatas of your Ishta. Simple mantra like "Om Dvarapaladevatabhyo namah" just a few times will suffice.

Worship your guru with nama mantras, the full Guru Vandanam, or the simple "Om gurubhyo namah". There's count should be exactly of Mahaganapati.

Worship Lord Skanda via meditation or japa.

Worship your pitrus. The best way is via small simple tarpanas and/or the Pitru Stotram by Lord Brahma. I can guarantee the benefits are genuinely shocking.

Worship your kuladevata with the same process. It's even better if you perform seva for the image/vigraha of your kula devata. If you're not sure who's your kuladevata, offer a lamp with flowers, adorn it with sandalwood and kumkuma, coupled with incense and some small food offering like jaggery.

Worship the ksetrapala of your area and the chief of Ksetrapalas, Kala Bhairava. If you're unsure, worship the main deity of your home and chant "Om Ksetrapalaya Namah" for as much as you want.

Worship the navagrahas with mantras and the Navagraha stotras. Even meditation with the offerings they like will appease them well. Make sure to focus on the graha that governs you most.

This one here is important as it should be done everyday. The Pancha Mahayajna. Homage to the enlightened ones such as the rishis and gurus, homage to all the devatas, homage to the pitrus, homage to humanity, homage to the animals.

Read any text or study something for a while, like 5 minutes of reading a book on science. Gain knowledge, that is Brahma Yajna.

Offer flowers and meditate for a while upon all the devatas, that is Deva Yajna.

Chant the pitru stotra or do tarpana for them, that is Pitru Yajna.

Perform acts of kindness to everybody, that is Manushya Yajna.

Feed animals and show your love to them, that is Bhuta Yajna.

You are now ready to approach the parivara devatas and the main deity of your worship. Gana devata worship varies depending on what deity you're worshipping. But the manual I've given applies for any and all sadhana as it cleanses your karma and clears the way for your spiritual path. Purification, stable stance with protection, destruction of obstacles, request of guidance, request of discipline, cleansing of Karmic debts, invoking protection and blessing, request of protection of your area, again cleaning your karmas, and the simple duties of one's life. These are what makes the sadhana powerful and eases your way in the spiritual world. It really really works wonders and I guarantee you changes and growth by simply following the manual here.

These are extremely important and are very fruitful if done everyday as a mindful routine.

That is all I want to share to you guys.

Om Tat Sat.

Since I was 3, I was deeply in love with divinity, be it the Dharmic devatas, elightened beings, taoist gods, divine spirits, Jesus, the omnipresent Allah. My primary deity was Kali among all. I see her as Sarvesvari. In my worship, I always begin with Ganapati. But even when there's no image of Kali, not even her name visible, I use the same vigraha of Ganapati, or an image of Krishna. Hell, even the nothingness in front of me was Kali. That was DEEPLY ingrained within me. All I used was the thought of Her, Her names (mainly chanting the shatanamastotram), Her astakam, dhyanas, and simply the fact she's the point of all existence. I would go on for hours after studying.

Indeed, it was tough being Her sadhaka. Soo many people (other than spiritual masters and priests) discouraged me, insulted me, and condemned me for loving such a goddess. But I didn't give a damn and resumed. She proved Her presence too many times, I definitely don't need any more proof that She's real. With the belief and techniques of other beliefs (mainly Dharmic), I could communicate with Her.

One encounter with Her when I was 12 made me way more spiritual and it changed me so much. It was my direct, physical Darshana of Bhagavati, but it was soo intense and terrifying. She hasn't appeared physically any more, but that was all it took to drive me deeper into spirituality and my own personal growth.

She's my refuge, that's all. My knowledge and practice in Tantra spiked when I was 16, which led me straight into intense Japa and the loving arms of Bhairava. I was into Shiva worship, nitya abhishekam was normal, but I wasn't too familiar. Japa, dhyana, parayana of texts, and tarpana significantly strengthened my spiritual progress despite it being so simple (I knew elaborate rituals, but I wanted to do easy ones first). These rituals are crazy. I'm unable to tell you how beneficial it is despite being so easy. Of course, challenges and tests exist that further burned my Karmas, but I was used to it. All I had to do was be genuine and fair. Anger and lust did nothing to me. I persist even stronger.

About my Guru, He/She will appear at the right time. Not now. There's a certain time and place that She specifically shown me to be for this purpose. There's a phase in sadhana where nothing happens. That's a huge test. If you're bored/hate it and you leave it, you've lost. But if you persist? You're worthy. I didn't know about this until last year, and I still don't care that nothing is happening. I'll leave it all to Her and thrive.

My message here? Oneness, surrender, love, simplicity, persistence, and dharma. I'm sharing this because I'm aware of other Kali sadhakas who maybe confused, unsure, need guidance, or needs motivation. You don't need a Guru to love Bhagavati. You don't need elaborate rituals to please Her. Your actions, surrender, sincerity, and maybe a little bit of ritual will get you straight to Her. All pain and problems are your Karmas, don't worry. Push on no matter what. It's okay to do simple things. It's your love that She wants. Fear nothing and push through.