noun
or cab·ba·la or cab·ba·lah or kab·a·la or kab·ba·la or kab·ba·lah also qab·ba·la or qab·ba·lah ˈkabələ; kəˈbälə, -ˈȧ-
( -s )
Usage: often capitalized
Etymology: Medieval Latin — more at cabal
1. : a system of occult theosophy or mystical interpretation of the Scriptures originally developed orally among Jewish rabbis in the Geonic period and transmitted to certain medieval Christians, holding such tenets as creation through emanation, supremacy of man's spirit over his desires, Messianic restoration of the world to a perfect state, and laying stress on hidden senses in the Scriptures and occult means of interpretation even to foretelling events by these methods
2.
a. : a traditional, esoteric, occult, or secret matter
b. : esoteric doctrine or mysterious art
of the several cabalas the most prominent are the mystic and the psychoanalytic, while the Marxist method … itself at times threatens to expand to the nebulousness of a cabala — Charles Neider