Overall think of the paths taken at creation (ie Air Astral etc..) as magic "colors", with level taken in each path as "power level", then paths of research as a magic "tech tree" allowing you to cast the spell *if* you have the proper colors and level.
At start you just can't cast anything but research will open you the spells as you go on.
Maybe it'll confuse you even more, but hey I've tried stg
