St. Germain (also sometimes referred to as Master Rakoczi or Master R) is a legendary spiritual master of the ancient wisdom in the Theosophical and post-Theosophical teachings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, Benjamin Creme, the White Eagle Lodge, modern Rosicrucianism and the Ascended Master Teachings, responsible for the New Age culture of the Age of Aquarius and identified with the Count of St. Germain (fl. 1710–1784), who has been variously described as a courtier, adventurer, charlatan, inventor, alchemist, pianist, violinist and amateur composer. He is of central importance to the Saint Germain Foundation.
St. Germain, as one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, is credited with near god-like powers and with longevity. It is believed that Sir Francis Bacon faked his own death on Easter Sunday, 9 April 1626, attended his own funeral and made his way from England to Transylvania where he found lodging in a castle owned by the Rakóczi family. There, on 1 May 1684, Bacon, by using alchemy, became an immortal occult master and adopted the name Saint Germain and became one of the Masters of the Ancient Wisdom, a group of beings that, Theosophists believe, form a Spiritual Hierarchy of planet Earth sometimes called the Ascended Masters. Thus, according to these beliefs, St. Germain was a mysterious manifestation of the "resurrected form" (or "resurrection body") of Sir Francis Bacon.