Mechanics of negative time/space

[anagogy]

So the astral is the same as time/space? Or they are different?

There is space and time and an orientation more towards one realm or the other. The astral realm represents a slight leaning away from space towards time. Higher planes represent a more pronounced leaning towards time over space. The astral is relatively close to the physical world (the realm of space/time).

And why does negative time/space then necessitate incarnation into negative space/time, unless the lower astral planes are themselves some mixture of time/space and space/time, because I thought that without some difference between time/space and space/time there could be no experience?

Picture this: there is a spiritual realm and material realm, and a mind complex bobbing up and down between them (reincarnational cycle). Each spiritual place has a material reflection (i.e. thoughts create reality). Each spiritual space has an analog material space. Like a mirror and its reflection. So if you enter negative time/space, you are there by virtue of your vibrational attunement, meaning the only reason you would be in negative time/space would be because your attention is captured by negative thoughts/beliefs/vibrations. So if you reincarnate from that vibrational standpoint you incarnate into the material reflection of that. And you are right about the mixture part, but almost all planes lean at least slightly more heavily in one direction or the other.

I guess I'm just wondering where power comes from, and about the nature of the astral plane, the time/space plane, the ether, the physical, and how they relate.

I guess I'm wondering about how physical matter can be transmuted through time/space, and how time/space can be manipulated to create the reality that I want.

Focus, faith, desire. Those are the basic cornerstones of magickal work. You could spend a lifetime on each principle as they can all be refined and refined and refined to infinity. With coresponding purity comes corresponding and matching results to that purity. A indigo identified sixth density beings focus/faith/will is scarily powerful, but consider how many aeons they have practiced the infinitely subtle balancing rituals. There is no 'quick rich' scheme unfortunately when it comes to acquiring occult power.

So, do you know how I'd investigate the nature of time/space in general, how it is generated and manipulated? Is it all creation ex nihilo that just follows certain vibratory patterns? Can the rules be broken?

Practice walking the border between waking and sleeping, and holding on to that state for long periods of time. It is a good way to familiarize and increase your sensitivity to time/space energies. It is really hard to learn to work with such energies when you can't perceive them so that would be my first step if I were you.