Foundations
Generating Cycle
The productive sequence in which each element nourishes the next.
Productive cycle
The generating cycle is the productive order Wood → Fire → Earth → Metal → Water → Wood, in which each element is said to nourish the one that follows. In BaZi it is one of the two basic ways elements relate, paired with the controlling cycle. A reading uses it to describe support and flow between positions, not as a fixed outcome.