An alternative or variant spelling of 'kabbalah,' the mystical tradition of Judaism involving secret or hidden interpretations of sacred texts.
From Hebrew 'qabbalah' meaning 'receiving' or 'tradition'; the variant 'cabala' preserves an older anglicization before standardized transliteration, with the 'c' spelling used in medieval and early modern texts.
The different spellings of kabbalah/cabala/qabbalah are a fascinating record of how English speakers at different times tried to pronounce Hebrew—medieval scholars used 'cabala' because that's closer to how it sounds to non-Hebrew speakers.
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