Led so astray with sailor following celestial guide (8)
I believe the answer is:
lodestar
'celestial guide' is the definition.
(star used for navigation)
'led so astray with sailor' is the wordplay.
'astray' indicates an anagram.
'with' says to put letters next to each other.
'sailor' becomes 'tar' (slang term for a sailor).
'led'+'so'='ledso'
'ledso' is an anagram of 'lodes'.
'lodes'+'tar'='LODESTAR'
'following' acts as a link.
I am not very happy about this link. It may be part of another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for lodestar that I've seen before include "Guiding principle" , "Heavenly guide" , "Guiding light in sky" , "In navigation, celestial reference point" , "Travel guide" .)