A qabalist is a practitioner of Jewish mysticism. It is worth noting that there are many large philosophical texts on the teachings of Qabalah. The most well-known text is the Zohar which means the brilliance / brightness. An English translation of this text exists in 10 volumes and is roughly 7700 pages long. While this might be the longest qabalistical text, it is still only one among many. Two other popular texts are the Bihar and Sepher Yetzirah. Sepher Yetzirah is often reputed to be the secret of creating a golem (or living creature made from clay). Most modern practitioners of Qabalah seem to ignore all this philosophy learn about the 10 sephiroth of the tree of life and then treat them like spheres in a chakra system forgetting most of the actual Jewish content. This grave bastardization leaves the initiate with little, but a few visualization exercises.

The term Qabalah means reception such as of guests at a wedding. One can be left with the impression of god hosting us at an event and showing us his hospitality or for some the initiate is considered the bride of God.

Some spellings are more common with different groups with slightly different philosophies. For example Cabala is used a lot by Christians through the enlightment period so has come to mean Christian Qabalah. Kabbalah is often used with adherents to Judaism and more traditional practitioners. Qabalah is used more-so in the present day, so it is frequently used by New Agers and Occultists who often don’t bother as much with the long philosophical texts.

Madonna claimed to be a practitioner of Qabalah when it was very popular in the late 90s.

Merkabah is a similar, but slightly different practice where an individual tries to spiritually ascend to the throne room of god through the 7 heavens or 7 temples. It’s name, Merkabah, means Chariot.

The Tree of Life features in a lot of the Qabalah taught by Isaac Ben Luria. It is a diagram which resembles the 10 main emanations of deity and the holy names associated with them. This features as a major teaching in much of Modern Qabalah.

See also other types of Magical Practitioner.