Sefer ha Sitra Achra by A. D. Mercer
The Sitra Achra is most often directly linked to the other ‘dark side’ of Hebraic mysticism, the Qlippoth. However, these two concepts are, quite simply, not the same thing.
Indeed, Sitra Achra predates the Qlippoth by a significant number of years and is hinted at in some of the oldest mystical texts. However, the Sitra Achra has increasingly become the purview of the modern Left Hand Path, and, while this is not necessarily a bad thing, it has meant that the Sitra Achra has been presented from a rather narrow perspective, focusing mainly on what might be considered as its darker meaning and thus making it appear to be little more than the mystical home of diabolical sinister forces.
However, the Sitra Achra is a far more complex and intriguing subject than the mere ‘abode of demons’ that it has predominantly been portrayed as.
Sefer ha Sitra Achra examines the earliest texts that expound the nature of the Sitra Achra, examining texts written circa the 12th to 13th centuries that are contemporary to the most famous of mystical Jewish texts, ‘The Zohar’. As well as other important mystical texts composed within the same timeframe. Authors whom the great Kabbalistic scholar Gershom Scholem referred to as the ‘Gnostics of Castile’ and the “Circle of Geona”
As well as establishing the history and philosophy of the Sitra Achra, Sefer ha Sitra Achra offers powerful and highly effective magical practices to enable the practitioner to truly explore the deepest depths of the Chambers of Hell.