>>14969514First off you have to be clean before prayer, you can take a shower or a bath, making lustral water at home is also suggested; this is important because you can't address the Gods when you're laden with impurities, you have to make yourself orderly as if you were waiting for the visit of a guest or go to an important meeting. After the preliminary preparations you can face the altar, and put your offerings on its surface. The correct position is like pic related, you have to stand up and stretch your hands and palms upwards, just a bit above your head, then you can start addressing Hestia, who will receive always a part of your offerings because she's the protector of households and the Goddess you must invoke before everybody else.
There are roughly three steps in the daily household ritual:
the first step is invoking the deity and inviting it to your ritual by listing its various epithets, functions and domains.
The second step is describing the offerings you've brought, and which part goes to who, you can also remind the deity of your previous offerings if you've been practicing for a long time.
The third step is formulating your request, ask the God/Goddess for your safety, health, or ask them to be propitious to you and your family.
The Greeks invoked the Gods even for daily requests because religion was woven in their daily life, so you should also try to integrate rituals in your daily life to create a stable bond with the Gods. You can offer any edible food, a part of your meal or a simple libation that you will pour on the outside. If you don't have anything to offer you can still burn incense, but praying empty handed isn't possible, without a physical sacrifice the ritual is void. The choice of the deity is up to you, whichever God you feel closer to you can address in your rituals, the important part is to always remember Hestia must be addressed before everybody else.
