The Upper Haight is known for its rich cultural history, and to this day, it brings throngs of gawkers to the neighborhood in search of signs of its erstwhile greatness. 

But to resident Deborah Hodgson, the Haight projects a very different story: an alternative history of civilization, one where Jesus and Mary Magdalene were actually married and sired a bloodline of royalty that seeped into all walks of life for the past 2,000 years. 

The kicker? You won't find an account of this narrative in a public library—Hodgson says it's hidden in coded symbology that's present in the design elements of many of the old Victorians in the neighborhood. 

Hodgson has recently published an interactive online text on the subject, and she maintains a blog, Coded History, that documents her research. We caught up with her the other day to go on a tour of the neighborhood and hear a little more about her fascinating—and no doubt, controversial—theory. 

Note that the interview below is a transcription that has been edited for length and clarity.

Were are you from and how did you get here?

I'm from Brisbane, Australia. I got here by working with some bands who were on tour, and they said, 'Come out to America!' And so I did, and something told me to come to San Francisco; it was kind of unexplainable. But I did, and I met my husband here.

When was that?

17 years ago. 

Why did you choose the Upper Haight?

I kind of gravitated here. I was visiting and staying with friends on Haight Street. We went out one night to a mutual friend's recording studio, and it turned out to be my future husband's.

Are you still in the music industry today?

Well, for the last few years I've actually been a housewife—my husband works in real estate management—but before that, I was working in festivals. I worked with How Weird Street Fair, The Superhero Street Fair, and Anon Salon; I also worked with Bill Graham Presents for the last season of their old regime. I've worked with The Grateful Dead and all those people, Harmony Festival, Chet Helms was a good friend of mine before he passed.

What drew you to be interested in symbology in the Haight?

Well, since I've lived here, I've always seen these buildings, and I've always thought they were beautiful and have been fascinated by them. But I've always had a strange vibe about the design. Then I ended up breaking my shoulder and couldn't move for a few months, and I had to sit there on the computer or the TV. I started watching these documentaries, like the one about the Da Vinci Code and this one called "Bloodline."

It was interesting because I felt they were misinterpreting the stuff about symbology, and they were ignoring a lot of the elements of heraldry. Through that, I realized that people were misusing the fleur-de-lis, because technically, it's an ancient copyrighted logo. It's the official heraldry symbol of the bloodline of Mary Magdalene and Jesus.

Explain briefly what you mean when you talk about 'Coded History.'

Coded history is history written or pictured in plain sight. It's either in the Bible—the Bible is actually several books—or it's on buildings or it's in fine art. You've heard of The Da Vinci Code, and how they have codes in fine art. So it's coded into that, through these symbols from Masonic Societies—not Freemasons, as they're quite different—that go back thousands of years.

Through those societies, people learn all these symbols, and it's an actual language, like Egyptian hieroglyphics. With that, they can code whole histories and stories within artwork, buildings, even within the sides of books that only they can read, and all we see are pretty decorations. 

What's the narrative you believe these symbols are telling, as compared to widely agreed upon written history?

Well, it's quite different. For one, Jesus Christ and his family were actually real people. They were royals, and they were recorded in history, but in other names. 

Is that what people sometimes would refer to as the 'Holy Grail' narrative?

Yes, I guess you could call it that. 

Tell us a little more about that. 

Well basically, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was the daughter of Cleopatra, and they were a pharaonic family, which basically means an imperial family who governs more than one country, per se.

Then Jesus and Mary Magdalene, who were brother and sister, married each other. Actually, the fleur-de-lis is their actual official heraldry symbol. If you go to France and look it up, they'll sit there and tell you that yes, this is the bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene—if you actually ask the authorities, not the New Age hocus-pocus people. This was 2,000 years ago, and it formed the bloodline of as many as two million people. 

What's your mission behind studying this and sharing it with the public?

Well, one is that so people can know the truth: so that they can actually believe in God without believing in idols, or believing in man as an idol. A lot of people get confused by idolizing themselves and celebrities and stuff like that, whereas if you're really talking about God, it's got nothing to do with that. 

The other mission of this project is to save the Victorians. They're being torn down as we speak. It's really upsetting, because each one is a storybook and it tells a chapter of the story. I want to know the whole story! 

But how would the idea that Jesus was married and had a bloodline prevent someone from believing in idolatry?

It has to do with the belief in miracles and magic. They're not what Hollywood makes them out to be. They do exist, but not how we've been told. 

How does exist?

Well, synchronicity, for one. When something happens, after you had just put it out to God or existence that you would like it to happen, and it was a one-in-a-million shot and it actually happens. The power of healing, for example. You can be healing to a person just by walking up to them and saying hello. That's a miracle in itself. 

Let's talk about some examples of all this you see in the architecture around here. 

OK [points to image pictured above], see how you have these lily leaves and things like that here? That's another symbol of the bloodline. It's related to the fleur-de-lis, and you can even see tiny fleurs-de-lis in there. So that's a variation, and it's all over the place, and it's just saying, 'Mary Magdalene and Jesus had a bloodline.'

Also, if you look up further and see the owls, that's related to Sophia and wisdom and illuminating knowledge. So basically, the owls are telling us there's a story here to read. You can also see the lily here that looks like an urn; that has to do with bloodlines and things like that. It's right in the middle there, but it's kind of hidden under the eaves here. This is the other part of the code; not everything is going to be extremely graphic, some of it is very stylized, so you have to use your imagination a little bit. 

What does this pillar here indicate to you?

Well, if you see here right on top of the pillar (pictured above), there's a symbol that curls around and then curls back. That's the symbol for Alexander the Great, and he's an ancestor of Jesus and Mary. 

Ok, here's a question: How is all this 'telling a story,' if the people who built these houses didn't really know what they were doing? Or did the builders and designers get it?

Well, with this particular one, it's possible. The owls kind of get me, like the builder was alerting us to be aware. But for the most part, no, people didn't have a clue. The ancient designs created by the Masons were pirated by and copied by the public.

So you're saying that there's a story written by people who don't know they are telling it?

Well, the people who built these houses weren't telling a story at all. They were just building them to look pretty. 

So it's your opinion that the people who originally came up with the symbols had this knowledge, and they put it into the symbols? And that now the information is available to people who learn to read the language of the symbols?

Yes. 

Let's check out some more buildings!

Ok, well if you took here, you'll see little arrows (pictured above), and that is actually the symbol for Jesus's dad, Joseph. Then between them, you'll see an orb with sort of horns, in a way—it depends on how it's painted. That's a symbol of Isis, which is the symbol for Jesus's mom, Mary, because she was a priestess of Isis and a Pharaonic daughter of Cleopatra and she was seen as an avatar of Isis. 

Who, specifically, is saying that Mary was the daughter of Cleopatra? Where is this lineage recorded?

You have to study a lot of different languages, since it's written in many different languages. They are written in ancient royal archives which you can pretty much only get to if you're a royal. However, there are certain old libraries where if you know what you're looking for, you can probably find it. But you really need to do a lot of Wikipedia searching.

Wikipedia is fabulous. I love Wikipedia and Google for research, especially Google Translate, because most of this information is not in English. In fact, nearly all of it is not in English. 

Ok, let's head to one more house. This next one is actually the house that inspired "Season of the Witch."

Lead the way!

Ok, so the pentagram (upper left window) is a symbol for Mary Magdalene. Also, Venus's original name was Lucifer. If you look in very old dictionaries and look in the thesaurus part for Venus, you will find Lucifer, which relates back to the word illuminate.

Venus has a strange kind of orbit, where it actually comes close to earth five times, and that's what is represented by the five points of the pentagram—you can see animations of it online. So Mary Magdalene served at the Temple of Diana, which is the Roman name for Venus. 

Thanks for this tour! One last question: What message might you have for people who are skeptical of your research and beliefs?

I would tell them to drop the Bible miracles and the New Age hocus-pocus. Simply look up history and mythology without the Hollywood filters, and it will start to make sense.