Dear Marc,
I think your confusion begins with the fact that your ideation is
impressed ...
As I wrote above, your ideation impregnates the *Akasha* resident, in
this case, within the physical molecules that compose breathable "air".
The Akasha permeates *all* things, be they physical, astral and/or
mental. Plus -- and here's the crux of all the Eucharistic magics --
the Akasha readily *absorbs* all the thoughts circulating in the
environment...
For example, why is this exercise seen as 'Physical' <<
Because it requires a physical act (breathing air) and depends upon a
physical substance (breathable air) as the vehicle.
Qn 2: It seems that this exercise starts and finishes with the
Spirit - this confuses me. I gather this again reflects my poverty in
understanding the planar analogy. But if we start with an 'Idea', I
don't see why and how (qn 1) this can impregnate the air which then
moves 'up the tree' back to the Spirit again?? This seems circular. <<
...
Ultimately, there *is* a circular -- or rather, a cyclic -- exchange
between "above" and "below" and between "below" and "above". This is
how we evolve. :)
Qn 3: On emanations from Akasha: does the Physical represent a
coarser (and hence 'less pure') manifestation of Spirit? <<
That's not really a very productive way to look at it. An emanation of
*non-sequential essential meaning* by the Akasha, causes a *sequential*
manifestation which continuously multiplies its variations of form
until
the moment when *all* of the possibilities inherent to the
*non-sequential* Akashic root have been manifest in specific form. At
the physical level, essential meaning reaches its most complex level of
manifestation. This is not "less pure", but rather "more complex". It
is still no less an expression of the Akashic root -- no less a part of
that pristine root.
If so, is this due to a different balance of the elements - (ie. more
Earth?)? <<
Yes, that is one way of describing it. I suggest that you meditate
upon
the significance of the Earth Element.
...
I'm still not sure whether I appreciate the 'why' or rather the 'how'
of the emanation downward toward the physical. <<
The Akasha is not "motivated" by a "why". That is really the purview
of
human emotion, not the Primum Mobile. Instead of being moved by a
"why", the Akasha simply *is*. It simply expresses as is its nature to
express. We can however, come to understand the "how" very deeply.
That *is* Hermetics.