Origin of The Term
As noted by Eva Nieuwdorp, the term magic circle was “coined by Dutch historian Johan Huizinga (1872–1945)." In Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture, Huizinga wrote:
All play moves and has its being within a play-ground marked off beforehand either materially or ideally, deliberately or as a matter of course. Just as there is no formal difference between play and ritual, so the ‘consecrated spot’ cannot be formally distinguished from the play-ground. The arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, etc, are all in form and function play-grounds, i.e. forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round, hallowed, within which special rules obtain. All are temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart.Read more about this topic: Magic Circle (virtual Worlds)
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